Somewhere I Have Never Traveled Book 2
by Kirayoshi
Summary: Following my earlier story. Buffy and Willow are reunited and planning a life together. But what is the secret of these shared dreams? And who is the mysterious Mr. Beltaine? And how do Faith and Spike figure into the picture?
1. Ice Cream

  
Disclaimers;   
I own Mr. Beltaine, Sandra Ogawa, Denise Parkinson and the Hell's Belles, all others are owned by the mighty Joss Whedon. I'm just playing in his dark sandbox.   
  
Rating; PG-13 to R   
  
Author's note; ]  
This is the continuation of my series, "Somewhere I Have Never Traveled", my own personal epic. I'm looking at a trilogy, and now that I have a threat worthy of the mighty Slayer, I'm looking forward to springing it on you.   
  
Summary;   
Buffy and Willow are reunited after the Slayer's return from Hell. But what are these strange dreams that Buffy is having? Who is the mysterious Mr. Beltaine? Where do Spike and Darla figure? And what happened to Faith?   
  
Spoiler; Fourth Season up to "Hush" and "I Will Remember You"; Angel the Series   
  
  
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
  
Somewhere I Have Never Travelled  
Book Two; The Sang Real   
Written by Kirayoshi   
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
  
Chapter 1  
Ice Cream  
  
Your love is better than ice cream   
Better than anything else that I've tried.   
And your love is better than ice cream,   
Everyone here know how to fight   
And it's a long way down,   
It's a long way down,   
It's a long way down to the place   
Where we started from.   
--Sarah McLaclan   
"Ice Cream"   
  
"Okay, Buffy, close your eyes," an excited Willow Rosenberg insisted as she opened the passenger side door of her car. The blond woman emerged from the car, her eyes clamped shut. Willow took her hand, and led her carefully up the walkway, over the porch steps. She stopped as she withdrew her keys from her purse, and unlocked the door.   
  
"Okay, Buffy," Willow announced after she led her beloved into her townhouse, "Open."  
  
Buffy Summers' eyes blinked open, and she stood transfixed at the sight before her. The living room was spacious, with a rich hardwood floor, an enormous front window, and a beamed ceiling. A hand-woven carpet in Native American patterns dominated the living room. A handsome ceiling fan rotated lazily, circulating the air. The furnishings were simple, clean lines, earth tones and maple finished shelves were the dominant theme. Very Cost Plus World Market, Buffy thought. Suited Willow to a tee.   
  
"Recognize the place, Buffy?" Willow asked sweetly as she made her way to the kitchen. "It's one of the places we were looking at when we went apartment hunting before -- well, before you disappeared. I just moved in a few weeks ago."  
  
"Nice digs, Willow." Buffy whistled, "So, what's the monthly damage?"  
  
"What do you mean?" Willow asked her girlfriend, peeking around the partition.   
  
Buffy looked around, a puzzled expression on her brow. "Rent, Wills. How much do you pay per month?"  
  
"None," Willow reported happily. "Other than utilities, of course." As Buffy's expression graduated from puzzled to incredulous, the redhead elaborated; "Zip. Nada. Bupkus. Squat. I own this pile, flat out."  
  
Buffy looked around at her surroundings, amazed. "How? I mean, we both agreed we couldn't afford the rent on this place before, how did you afford to buy it?"   
  
"My new part-time job," Willow emerged from the kitchen with two soda cans. "Diet Pepsi, right?" Buffy accepted the can, and popped it open. "A few months ago, when we thought you were gone -- I know, awkward."  
  
"No, no, it's okay," Buffy assured her lover. Willow let out a sigh of relief and continued. "Well, I started to bury myself in work to deal with missing you. Didn't quite fill the void, but it helped a little. I started job hunting, and landed a job as a professional beta-tester."  
  
"Man, I've been hanging around you long enough to know what that is," Buffy commented. "You've been trying out software and stuff, before it goes public?" Willow nodded happily. "How much does that pay?"  
  
"From Cybermancers," Willow admitted as she flopped down on her overstuffed sofa, and bade Buffy to join her, "about as much as working for Mickey D's. Minus the paper hat and coming home smelling like french fries and secret sauce."  
  
"And that got you into these swanky digs?" Buffy sat down next to Willow, amazed as always that this vibrant red-haired woman had given her heart to her. Even after a year's separation, there was no disguising her openness, her adoration. Silently and for the million-and-twelfth time, Buffy thanked whatever God had placed Willow Rosenberg in her life.   
  
"Not really," Willow answered. "But someone from product development asked me to design some gaming software for them, and I agreed. They're a small firm, you understand, they haven't been swallowed up by Bill Gates or any of the other Pirates of Silicon Valley, so they had a more employee friendly approach. Someone heard that I was a crack programmer as well as a hacker, so they gave me a challenge. I ended up designing a role-playing adventure based on Buckaroo Banzaii--"  
  
"What," Buffy started to laugh. "That weirdo sci-fi comedy starring the guy from Robo-Cop and Jeff Goldblum?"  
  
"Hey," Willow answered mock-defensively, "Xander introduced me to that movie when we were kids, and I've always enjoyed it." Buffy composed herself, but still had a slight smile as Willow continued. "Once they got the licensing details squared away, which was easy since Buckaroo Banzaii wasn't licensed by anyone and was selling for cheap, the game was beta-tested, a few bugs were tweaked, and it ended up being Cybermancers' all-time top seller. Huge cult following on the movie, including a lot of tech-heads. The suits were so impressed that they've commissioned me to design at least two more games for them, and gave me a nice hefty bonus, which first went into buying this house. I figured that I'd better cover my nut." She gestured to a desk on the far side of the spacious living room, where she kept her computer. "And I'm still beta-ing for them, from home, when I'm not chasing my diploma at UC Sunnydale. That covers heat, electric, groceries, that sort of thing."  
  
"Well," Buffy declared as she took Willow's hand in hers, "you did good, kiddo. Congrats."  
  
"Hey, I know I did good," Willow replied softly, as she took Buffy's hand and kissed her knuckle, "the night you and I became lovers." She took Buffy's face in her hands, and kissed her on the lips. The kiss was soft, sweet, and undemanding at first. But as Willow's desire mounted, her mouth opened, and her tongue met Buffy's in an increasingly heated exchange. Her hands trailed down the blond woman's body, outlining her curves with gentle, questing fingers. "Goddess," Willow breathed, when she finally surfaced from that incredible kiss. "I missed you, Buffy."  
  
"Yeah," Buffy agreed. "We missed a year of our lives. I know it's not my fault, but I can't help feel like I' responsible. I wish I could make it up to you."  
  
"Just say you'll stay," Willow said. This was it, the moment of truth. She had feared that Buffy's year in Hell, even if she didn't remember any of her experience, might have changed her, might have erased the love she professed.   
  
Buffy regarded Willow with a hopeful stare. "You asking me to move in with you?"  
  
"I can't think of this," Willow spread her arms, to indicate the whole house, "as a home without you here. Yesterday, after I visited you at the hospital, I asked Dad to recommend a lawyer. He gave me a name, and I talked to her about having you legally named as co-owner of this house. Just say the word, and we can seal the deal. As far as I'm concerned, this isn't my place, it's ours. And I want you to live here. With me."  
  
Buffy's eyes met Willow's, and her joy at Willow's offer was evident on Buffy's face. "I accept." Willow wrapped her arms around Buffy in a welcoming hug, showering her face with kisses, saying "Thank you," with each kiss.   
  
"Will," Buffy stopped her show of passion with a gentle hand to Willow's lips, "I have to talk to you, though. Y'see, Wills," she tried to steady her nerves for what she planned to do, what she innately knew was the next logical step in her life. "Yesterday, while you were at class, Mom visited me at the hospital. We got to talking, about the mistakes that we made in our relationship, the things she always wanted to do, that sort of thing. She told me that I had an opportunity to make sure I had no regrets when I leave this world. And the first thing I thought of when she said that was you."   
  
"Will, my one regret right now is that we lost a year together. I don't know how you got along without me, although I always knew that you would survive, you always were tougher than you looked. But still, we lost so much time. All the conversations we could have had, all the movie nights, the ice cream, the lovemaking we never got to do, I don't want to lose any of that again." She swallowed hard, and searched Willow's eyes for acceptance, for understanding. Seeing the warmth reflected in those green orbs she adored so much, Buffy continued;   
  
"When I talked to Mom about it, I realized that there was only one thing that would assure me that I wouldn't ever be parted from you again. Mom and I talked about it some more, and, well," She started fishing an object out of the pocket in her denim jacket. "When Mom and Dad got divorced, Mom told me, she tried to return her wedding and engagement rings, but Dad refused. Something about not planning on using them again." She produced a small velvet box, and opened it in front of Willow. The box contained a simple gold band with a three-quarter carat diamond solitaire.   
  
Willow's eyes widened at the sight, and at the implied question that came with the ring. Buffy gulped again before emotion overcame her purpose. "She told me that she wanted this ring to stand for something real, more real than her marriage. That's what I want, and I know that's what I got with you. So I guess there's no other way to say it, but to say it."  
  
She got off the couch, and knelt before Willow. "Willow Rosenberg," she asked in a plaintive voice, desperately trying to finish the question before she was overcome with nervous sobs, "Will you marry me?"  
  
Willow leapt off of the couch and into Buffy's arms, with a force that nearly knocked the blond onto her back. Buffy found herself assaulted by Willow's lips, as the wiccan rained soft kisses all over her beloved. Buffy finally pulled Willow's body away from her, looked at her soulmate, and asked, "Was that a 'yes'?"  
  
"Yes!" Willow exulted in Buffy's arms. "Yes, yes, yes! I will marry you!" Buffy wrapped her arms around Willow's shoulders, not caring that she was in danger of losing her balance. Sure enough, they fell sideways to the floor, and rolled around on the carpet, lost in their bliss. They kissed like that for several minutes, before Buffy remembered the ring. Reluctantly prying herself from Willow's arms, Buffy crawled to where she dropped the ring box and collected the engagement ring. She took Willow's hand in her own, and gently slipped the ring on the appropriate finger.   
  
Willow admired the ring, especially the sparkle of the diamond. She imagined that her eyes sparkled as brightly as she looked at the gem. She looked again at Buffy Summers, her fiancée (Goddess what a wonderful word, she thought,) and embraced her again. Buffy collected her lover in her arms, and lifted her effortlessly. It had occurred to her that she shouldn't be so strong, but at the moment it didn't matter. "Bedroom," Buffy whispered urgently in Willow's ear.   
  
"Just what I was thinking," Willow agreed, her eyes darkening with growing lust.   
  
"Where is it?" Buffy asked.   
  
"Oh." Willow giggled slightly. "Uh, down the hall, to the right."  
  
Following Willow's instructions, Buffy carried her toward the bedroom. Willow wrapped her arms around Buffy's shoulders, kissing and nipping her neck, and nibbling her earlobe. Buffy entered the bedroom, noting with satisfaction the queen-sized bed. She had to smile when she saw a familiar friend sitting on the pillows.   
  
"Well hello there, Mr. Gordo," Buffy purred as she gently placed Willow on the bed, and picked up the stuffed pig. "Have you been taking care of Willow while I've been gone?" she asked, touching her nose to Gordo's snout.   
  
Willow chuckled as Buffy doted on her childhood toy. "Yeah, he's been keeping me company this last year. Sort of a surrogate Buffy."  
  
"Well," Buffy announced as she placed Mr. Gordo on top of a nearby bookshelf, "thanks for taking care of Wills for me, but I'm here now." She then glanced back at Willow, who started to unbutton her top. Buffy climbed onto the bed and stopped her with a gentle kiss. "Allow me," Buffy whispered.   
  
She slowly unfastened the buttons, parting her shirt, and placing her lips on each new inch of exposed skin in a series of feather-light kisses. Once the last button was loose, Willow shimmied off the top, revealing a pink lace bra. Willow then grasped Buffy by the shoulders, rolled her over, and pinned her to the bed. She lavished her face with wet, passionate kisses, finally clamping her lips onto Buffy's mouth and sucking on her tongue. Buffy reciprocated, and the two women began to make passionate love. Clothes were discarded, lips and hands explored, and the air was filled with moans of pure pleasure.   
  
Hours later, two naked women snuggled together beneath the covers, sated for the time being. Willow purred happily into Buffy's ear.   
  
"Welcome home, Buffy," she murmured.   
  
Buffy stroked a strand of red hair lazily, and kissed the top of Willow's head. "You know, Wills, if we're going to do that again--"  
  
"If?" Willow raised her voice in mock-indignation. Buffy playfully swatted her lover's arm.   
  
"Willow, I'm saying that if we're going to keep this up all night, we're gonna need to replenish our strength."  
  
"In other words, food," Willow said, stretching like a contented cat. The act of stretching accentuated her subtle curves in just the right way to stir Buffy's passions further. "Okay, Buffy. Anything in particular?"  
  
"Anything we can eat in bed, I'm thinking," Buffy pondered the offer. "Ice cream, of course. Just the container with two spoons."  
  
"I dunno, Buffy," Willow smirked. "I could never eat ice cream in bed. It keeps landing on me."  
  
"Oh dear," Buffy gasped theatrically. "What ever will I do if that happens? I'll have to lick it off of you or something."  
  
Willow regarded Buffy with a wolfish stare. "I'm so liking that idea," Willow giggled. She rushed off to the kitchen to collect the ice cream.  
  
Buffy suddenly remembered something else; "Oh, and peanut butter, preferably crunchy!"  
  
"I got it," called a masculine voice. Within seconds, a naked Angel entered the bedroom, his arms laden with food. He dropped the parcels on the bed, where he joined Buffy. Buffy happily grabbed a spoon and tucked into the ice cream.  
  
"The perfect yum," Buffy announced. "Mmm, this is a dream. You're human for like a minute and already there is Cookie-dough-fudge-mint-chip in the fridge."  
  
"God, I love food," Angel declared, as he cuddled up to Buffy.   
  
Buffy smiled at Angel, agreeing; "Food is good."  
  
"Why didn't you ever tell me about chocolate and peanut butter?"  
  
"Well, I figured if your vamp taste buds couldn't really savor it," Buffy answered, playing with Angel's chest hairs, "then it would only hurt you, you know? By the way, I'm over the whole needing to be mature thing. That time you just spent in the kitchen? That was enough time apart."  
  
"Too much." Angel leaned into Buffy's embrace, and the two kissed with the passion of two lovers long separated and now reunited. The kiss quickened in tempo, until the ice cream in the spoon Angel was lazily holding dripped onto his chest. The sudden coldness caught him off guard, and he started to chuckle at his predicament. "Okay, mortal coordination leaving something to be desired."   
  
"Wrong," Buffy growled, "it's just right." She then dipped her head to Angel's chest and started to lick the ice cream off of his chest.   
  
"Buffy, Buffy," a voice that didn't belong to Angel broke through her reverie, and Buffy heard the sound of fingers snapping in front of her. She blinked, and Angel was gone. No, she realized, he was never here. She shook her head in disbelief, and no small amount of guilt; not a few hours after asking Willow to marry her, and Buffy was thinking about sex with an old boyfriend. And Willow was standing before her, peanut butter and ice cream in hand.   
  
"You okay, Buffy?" Willow asked.   
  
"Oh, uh, yeah," Buffy collected her scattered thoughts. "I'm fine. Just hit by your dazzling beauty, that's all."  
  
"Liar," Willow stuck out her tongue at Buffy. "Was it your memory?" She sat down, placing her burden beside her on the bed. Her eyes displayed genuine concern.   
  
Buffy nodded to Willow. "Yeah, I think so. It was about me and Angel before--" she hesitated. "That doesn't bother you, me talking about Angel, does it?"  
  
"No, it doesn't," Willow's voice was calm, assuring. "He is part of your life."  
  
"A very small part," Buffy illustrated by holding her thumb and forefinger up, very close together. "You, on the other hand, are everything to me. Never doubt that, you hear me, Wills?" Willow nodded, a tear of joy trickling down her cheek. "Now then," Buffy added, "let's dig in to that ice cream before it melts."  
  
"Good idea," Willow answered, holding out two spoons. "Choose your weapons."   
  
Buffy took one spoon, and dug into the ice cream container. She got in several large bites of ice cream, when Willow gave Buffy a sloppy kiss on the mouth, tasting the ice cream on her lips.   
  
"Oh, are we in that mood, Wills?" Buffy grabbed the peanut butter, and dipped her fingers into the jar. Scooping out a dollop of peanut butter, she smeared the spread all over Willow's breasts, and then started to lick it off, savoring the taste and texture of the peanut butter mingling with Willow's skin.   
  
Willow noticed that Buffy had cleaned up the last of the peanut butter, but was still nibbling at her breasts. Not that she minded. Their love play continued long into the night, as Willow gladly welcomed Buffy home.   
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
  
Egypt, 1300   
  
Lady Hathor wore a linen cloth at her waist, but no other coverings. It was the way of her calling that she stand within the temple of Isis unadorned, that Isis might see her true self. Besides, she knew that Ankh-Isis took pleasure in seeing her naked. She approached the priestess of Isis, who regarded her champion and lover with a compassionate nod, her wisdom and her love showing within the depths of her kohl-rimmed eyes.   
  
"Are you well, Hathor?"  
  
"As well as can be expected, Ankh-Isis," Hathor replied. "The legions of Set and Anubis grow each day. The Nile will run red with the blood of our people before they are through." She winced in pain, as her shoulder protested her latest battle with the undead creations of Anubis, god of embalming.   
  
"You are hurt," Ankh-Isis stood up from her throne, and supported Hathor's weight. "Come, sit, let me heal you." She immediately plucked a lotus blossom from the nearby pond, and crushed the base of the flower in her hand, wringing out the flower's sap. She rubbed the sap onto Hathor's wounded shoulder, massaging it deep into her skin. The soothing lotion began to work its power on Hathor, removing the tensions and pains of her battle with the undead.   
  
"Set was always an obstinate opponent," Ankh-Isis said. "By his alliance with Anubis, he seeks to bring the dead to a mockery of life, thereby robbing them of the glories of the kingdom of Osiris." She turned Hathor in her arms to face her and continued. "You serve Osiris, as I serve his sister-wife Isis. As such, we are bonded as they were."  
  
"You are right," Hathor agreed, seeing the warmth in Ankh-Isis' eyes replaced by the heat of her desire. "But is it right for us to feel as we do about each other?"  
  
"Not only right," Ankh-Isis answered, taking Hathor's hand in her own, and kissing it, "but just and necessary. By loving each other, we fulfill the love of Osiris and Isis, the love that was cruelly destroyed when the betrayer Set killed his brother Osiris. Love me now, Hathor, as Osiris loved his Isis." Hathor said no more, but claimed the priestess' lips with her own.   
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
Buffy's eyes opened suddenly, as she studied her surroundings. She was in Willow's room--no, their room, she reminded herself. She felt the weight of Willow's body on her own, as Willow caressed Buffy's breast in her sleep. She smiled as she enjoyed Willow's touches. But the dream still weighed down on her.   
  
She didn't understand why, but this was the second dream she had in as many days, and the theme was similar. She was a fighter, a warrior of some kind, against some sort of great evil. And in each dream, she was partnered with a woman who was her lover. A woman who vaguely resembled Willow. Even if the appearance of the priestess in tonight's dream wasn't close to her Willow, the soul was similar.   
  
She wondered if these dreams were the key to her lost memories, but she found that idea extremely far-fetched. Her memories would surface on their own, Giles had assured her of that.   
  
But what if there was a connection between these dreams of the distant past and her own life? What kind of life did she have before? Who was she?   
  
Buffy realized that she couldn't answer those questions now, so she let them drift back to the back of her mind. Right now, her only concern was the beautiful red-haired woman who, even when she slept, seemed to desire her body.   
  
Buffy lay back and surrendered her body to Willow's caresses. This, she decided, is what was important. She had her Willow back.   
  
And she was not going to let her go.  
  
  
  



	2. Hell's Belles

  
Disclaimers;   
I own Mr. Beltaine, Sandra Ogawa, Denise Parkinson and the Hell's Belles, all others are owned by the mighty Joss Whedon. I'm just playing in his dark sandbox.   
  
Rating; PG-13 to R   
  
Author's note;   
This is the continuation of my series, "Somewhere I Have Never Traveled", my own personal epic. I'm looking at a trilogy, and now that I have a threat worthy of the mighty Slayer, I'm looking forward to springing it on you.   
  
Summary;   
Buffy and Willow are reunited after the Slayer's return from Hell. But what are these strange dreams that Buffy is having? Who is the mysterious Mr. Beltaine? Where do Spike and Darla figure? And what happened to Faith?   
  
Spoiler; Fourth Season up to "Hush" and "I Will Remember You"; Angel the Series   
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
Somewhere I Have Never Travelled  
Book Two; The Sang Real   
Written by Kirayoshi   
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
  
  
Chapter 2  
Hell's Belles  
  
"All that we see or seem,   
Is but a dream within a dream"  
--Edgar Allan Poe   
  
The roaring of three Harley-Davison engines hacked into the night outside of Sunnydale. The three women riding into town were here for a little fun. They pulled over and cut off their engines, just outside of the city limits.   
  
"Sunnydale, California," the lead biker announced, removing her helmet to unleash a thick mane of red hair. "Squaresville USA."   
  
"Hey, I dunno about that, Rizzo," the blonde next to her argued as she took off her helmet and popped her chewing gum. "Wasn't this were the Hellmouth was supposed to be?"  
  
"Yeah, Frenchie," Rizzo answered. " 'Supposed to be' is right. The Hellmouth got closed last year by the Slayer. Word is she died to close it."  
  
"You know what that means, Riz," the brunette biker offered, pulling out a cigarette. "We're gonna get the chance to raise a little hell!"  
  
"You're right, Leather," Rizzo said, spitting to the side. "C'mon, girls," she announced, as her face contorted to that of her true nature, a vampire. "Hell's Belles ride tonight!"  
  
The three vampires rode into town, whooping loudly. Tonight, the hunt would begin.   
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
  
It was Eighties Open Mike Night at the Bronze, when Buffy and Willow entered their favorite hang-out, ready to party. They had hoped to run into their friends that night, as they had news to share.   
  
They were pleased to find Cordelia at the Bronze, but surprised to see her on stage, backed by Evil Petting Zoo, the band that had once been known as Dingoes Ate My Baby. After Oz died in his traitorous attack on Buffy over a year ago, Devon and the other surviving members regrouped and launched a new sound. With a new guitar player, they began to enjoy a greater popularity than ever.   
  
Tonight, they were supplying a live karaoke, as amateur singers tried for a one-hundred dollar prize. The only rule was the singer had to perform a song from the Eighties. Cordy had chosen a lively dance piece from disco-era survivors Blondie, and sang with obvious joy;   
  
"When I met you in the restaurant,   
You could tell I was no debutante.   
You asked me what's my pleasure; "A movie or a measure"?   
I'll have a cup of tea and tell you of my dreaming.   
Dreaming is free.   
"I don't want to live on charity   
Pleasure's real or is it fantasy?   
Real to real is living rarity   
People stop and stare at me, we just walk on by   
We just keep on dreaming."  
  
The two girls bounced over to the dance floor, where Xander saw them. "Hey, Willow, Buffy!" he greeted his long-time friends, bear-hugging both in turn. "Good to see you here, Buffy, the place hasn't been the same without you."  
  
"I'm glad to be back too, Xander," Buffy shouted to be heard above the band. The three friends turned their attention back to Cordy's performance.   
  
"Feet, feet! Walking on a two mile.   
Meet, meet! Meet me at the turnstile,   
I never met him, I'll never forget him.   
Dream, dream! Even for a little while   
Dream, dream! Filling up an idle hour   
Fade away, radiate."   
"I sit by and watch the river flow.   
I sit by and watch the traffic go.   
Imagine something of your very own;   
Something you can have and hold, I'd build a road in gold   
Just to have some dreaming,   
Dreaming is free.   
Dreaming.   
Dreaming is free."  
  
The band slowed to a finish, Cordy took a bow, her face awash with happiness. Xander greeted her as she stepped down from the stage, kissing her lightly on the lips.   
  
The four friends sat at their regular seats, and ordered fruit juices and mochas from their server. "Man," Willow breathed, as she cuddled next to Buffy on an overstuffed lounge, "It's good to be back here again. I've missed the Bronze."  
  
Buffy looked surprised at Willow. "You mean you never came here while I was gone?"  
  
"Too many memories, Buff," Willow admitted. "I guess I didn't want to be here without you." And she kissed Buffy on the cheek.   
  
"Hey," Cordy announced, "back when I was vying for super-stardom, I never thought I'd say this, but now that I'm back here, I'd rather party here than at Spago's any day!"  
  
"That's right," Xander announced, his voice taking on a camp Cockney accent. "It's my happening, baby, and it freaks me out!" At this statement, Cordy's face turned chalk white.   
  
"Help me," she pleaded with Buffy and Willow. "I just agreed to marry a man who quotes 'Austin Powers'!"  
  
"Sorry, Cordy," Buffy shook her head as she reached for her mocha. "You're on your own. It's your own fault if your gonna--" Her voice trailed off as she made the connection. "--MARRY XANDER?"  
  
Willow gaped at the two young lovers like a stunned fish. Xander glared at Cordy in mock seriousness, saying, "Way to wreck our reveal." Turning to Buffy and Willow, Xander announced, "Hey guys, did I tell you? We're getting married."  
  
Willow laughed out loud, smiling broadly. "Wow!" was all that she could say, as she stood up and hugged her life-long friend. Buffy joined her briefly in hugging Xander, then went over to embrace Cordy. "Congratulations, guys," Buffy announced. "We're happy for you."  
  
"Yeah," Willow added, as she regrouped with Buffy. She draped her left arm over Buffy's shoulder, displaying her left hand. "I guess there's a lot of that going around these days." And she wiggled her fingers, to make sure that Cordy and Xander noticed the diamond on her hand.   
  
Xander's jaw dropped, and Cordy gasped audibly. "You two--" Cordy started, but couldn't finished. She rushed over to Willow, and lifted her up in a joyous embrace. "Way to go, Wills," she announced.   
  
Xander collected himself long enough to shake Buffy's hand vigorously. "So you finally landed her," Xander grinned. "Just promise you'll take good care of her."  
  
"That's a given," Buffy vowed. "Hey, Cordy, do you mind if I borrow your fiancee for a second? I wanted to see if these rumors of him joining the Force were true."  
  
"Amazingly, they are," Cordy confirmed. "You two go and talk, I gotta chat with Willow." She tipped her hand in a casual wave while Buffy and Xander walked away.   
  
"So," Willow said. "Apart from the obvious, how're things with you?"  
  
"Great, Wills," Cordy answered. "I'm enrolling at U.C. Sunnydale next semester, I may qualify for a student grant, my job's going well, and I'm marrying the guy I used to treat like dirt in high school. Life's funny that way," she added as she sipped her kiwi-strawberry drink.   
  
"Yeah," Willow agreed, "it's a turvy-topsy world." Cordy regarded Willow with a thoughtful expression. Years ago, she would have dismissed the shy young computer hacker as a geek. Her fashion sense derived from the 'softer side of Sears' as she called it. Now, looking at her, she could scarcely recognize that shrinking violet she once knew, that her posse would degrade at every turn. Willow had grown into an exceptional woman. "Something wrong, Cordy?"  
  
"Not really," Cordy said wistfully. "I was just thinking of old times. I'm starting to realize how much I missed in high school. I wish I had a friend like you back then."  
  
Willow smiled warmly at Cordy. "You did, Chase. You just didn't recognize it then." She patted Cordy's hand, and the former cheerleader nodded understandingly.  
  
She then sobered up, as other thoughts intruded. "Willow," she asked, "something's up. Something Hellmouthy. Can you meet us at Giles' place tomorrow?"  
  
"Should I bring Buffy?"  
  
"Not if she doesn't have her memory," Cordy confessed. "This could get creepy. There's a new vamp in town. Xander and I ran into him the other night. I'm guessing he's not a newbie. Calls himself Mr. Beltaine. And get this, he says he has a soul."  
  
"Whoa," Willow breathed. "Yeah, this has the potential for freaksomeness."  
  
"So, you want to talk to G-Man, do the research thing tomorrow?"  
  
"I guess we'd better talk to him then," Willow nodded. "Buffy's enrolling in refresher courses at the campus tomorrow, to get caught up for fall semester. I can meet you while she's doing that."   
  
"Good," Cordy felt relieved. She had hoped not to be involved in Slayer's business when she moved back to Sunnydale, but if she was, it was good to have friends like Willow at her back.   
  
Buffy and Xander returned just as Willow and Cordy were finishing their conversation, and the two couples continued to chat for a while. Cordy was briefly upset to learn that the hundred-dollar prize went to a trio performing Beastie Boys' "Fight For the Right to Party", but summed it up by saying, "I knew they'd pull in a ringer."  
  
The four friends then hit the dance floor, as Lou Bega's "Mambo No. 5" poured out of the speakers. For a brief while, all troubles were forgotten.   
  
But Cordy and Xander knew that this was just the eye of the storm.   
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
  
Jesse Montrose and Rachel Pryde had only stopped behind the gazebo at Whetherly Park for a quick necking session, when the roar of a two-stroke engine could be heard in the distance. As the roar got louder, Jesse craned his neck, lifting his head to see what was going on. The sight of three huge black motorcycles, their headlights blazing like beacons of hellfire, barreling straight at them, made his stomach lurch. He quickly pushed Rachel out of the way, then dove in the opposite direction, just before the screeching tires ground up the sod where they had just lain seconds ago.   
  
The bikers called Hell's Belles braked their steeds, shutting off the ignition. "Okay, girls," Rizzo announced, discarding her helmet, "Who's hungry?" Her fellow bikers joined her, as they began to stalk toward the young woman.   
  
Jesse grabbed Rizzo's shoulder, shouting, "Get away from her, bitch!"  
  
The biker turned and faced Jesse. Her jutting brow hooded over glowing yellow eyes, and her fangs glistened in the dim streetlights. "No one," she growled as Jesse let go of her, "touches the leather and lives!" She lunged at Jesse, preparing to rend his throat and drink his blood.   
  
A wooden shaft grazed her face, cutting close enough to cause pain. "Back off, Warrior Princess," a calm voice rang out behind the biker chick. The vampire twisted around her, momentarily forgetting Jesse, to concentrate on this new interloper. A young woman, Asian-American from the looks of her. She stood before her, legs apart, ready to move, ready to fight.   
  
"Well, well, well," Rizzo barked out her laughter. "What's this, everybody's kung fu fighting?"   
  
"You know," Sandra Ogawa answered, talking almost conversationally, as she noted that Jesse and Rachel had taken the opportunity to make their escape, "I'm really getting sick of that stereotype. I'm Asian, I'm in good shape, so people automatically assume that I'm into martial arts. Of course, as it happens," she leapt at Rizzo, executing a perfect flying kick, connecting hard with Rizzo's jaw, "I am. But that has nothing to do with my ethnic background, and everything to do with my being the Slayer."  
  
"Slayer!" the other vampires shrieked, as they gathered around their fallen leader. Rizzo snapped her fingers, shouting, "Frenchie, Leather, take her out!"  
  
"Sorry," a quiet voice behind Rizzo spoke, and Rizzo turned to see a young blond woman holding a crossbow aimed at her heart. Tara smiled as she fingered the trigger, saying, "I'm taking her out these days, and I tend to get possessive. No hard feelings."  
  
Before Tara could pull the trigger on her crossbow, a clawed hand swiped down, knocking the weapon out of her grip. A lean muscular arm grabbed her around the throat, and held her in a hammerlock. The new vampire, an older-looking blond, shouted to Sandra as she raised her stake toward her, "Drop the stake, or I drop your girlfriend!"  
  
Sandra stood motionless for five seconds, measuring her chances of freeing Tara and taking out her captor. The chances didn't look good. She allowed the stake to drop from her fingers, saying, "Okay, sister. I've done what you want."  
  
"What makes you think I wanted to bargain with you, Slayer?" the vampire cackled evilly. She then added, "But your witch friend is of no concern to me. Catch!" She tossed Tara roughly at Sandra, who caught her wiccan girlfriend in her arms.   
  
The vampire helped Rizzo to her feet. "I am Darla," she introduced herself, "and I have need of good allies like you."  
  
Rizzo laughed lustily at Darla, saying, "I like your style, lady. You ride with me!" She snapped her fingers, and they all got on their motorbikes. Darla sat behind Rizzo, her arms wrapped around Rizzo's waist. The biker vamps gunned their motors, and rode off into the night.   
  
Sandra stood behind, and held Tara in her arms. "Did she hurt you, Tara?" she asked, worry etching her face.  
  
"I-I'm fine," Tara replied. "Just sh-shaken up a bit. And we saved those two."  
  
"Yeah," Sandra replied. "just wish we could have stopped those rejects from 'Grease'."  
  
Tara noticed the look of determination on Sandra's face. She recalled Buffy getting a similar look in the past. She recalled how Buffy often took it as a personal failure whenever a vampire escaped. She turned Sandra's chin toward her with a gentle finger, saying, "Hey, Sandra, don't let it get you down. Not even a Slayer can outrun a Harley. We'll go to see Giles and Miss Parkinson tomorrow, and get their take on this situation."  
  
"You're right," Sandra answered Tara, some of her concern fading. "You're good for me, you know?"  
  
"Yeah," Tara grinned impishly at Sandra. "That's why you love me, right?"  
  
"Among other reasons," Sandra replied as she tilted her head in to kiss the lips she had longed for all day. Two months ago, Sandra Ogawa hadn't even heard of Tara, and now she couldn't imagine life without her.   
  
But this new vampire had her worried. She could sense her power. This Darla was more powerful than any vampire she ever faced before.   
  
Suddenly, her life felt a great deal more complicated.   
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
  
Giles sipped his Earl Grey as he glossed over the Book of the Goddess. No matter how many times he read over this ancient text, he was never less amazed that this book had been part of the backbone of the Watcher's Council since its inception many centuries ago, yet had been left to rot in a dusty repository since the Crusades.   
  
The section he had been re-reading was a chapter on the Slayer's Handfasting. The ceremony, officiated by the Watcher who oversaw the Slayer, joined the Slayer with her chosen love, a mage or witch, as spouses. He imagined that once Buffy regained her memory, and was told of this ritual, she would want him to officiate a handfasting between herself and Willow. He found that he looked forward to the honor.   
  
The incessant ringing of Giles' phone broke his concentration. He glanced at his clock, and grumbling under his breath that it was too late in the evening for anyone to call, answered the phone. "Rupert Giles residence," he answered.   
  
"Giles," a familiar formal voice greeted him. Giles raised his eyebrows as he recognized the voice. "Wesley?"  
  
"I hope I didn't get you at a bad time," Wesley Wyndam-Price announced, "but I have some distressing news to report. I was wondering if Angel was there."  
  
"No," Giles answered. "He's back at his old mansion. Is it something you can only tell him, or can I take a message?"  
  
"No, Giles," Wesley said, "it's nothing I can't tell you. In fact I think you should hear this."  
  
"I'm listening," said the Watcher.   
  
"It's Faith," Wesley said, as his voice grew more morose. "The prison warden called me. She was attacked by a fellow inmate in prison a few days ago. She's dead."  
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
  
"Master," the peroxide-haired vampire announced, bowing low. "I have bad news."  
  
Mr. Beltaine sat quietly as Spike made his announcement. "What is it, Spike?"  
  
"Three new vamps breezed into town," Spike reported. "Call themselves Hell's Belles. I ran into them a few decades ago. They're tough. And they hooked up with Darla."  
  
"I see," Beltaine answered. "This does disturb me. Darla's getting stronger, and gaining allies. We'll have to contact the Slayer and her comrades soon."  
  
"I'm not sure they'll want to see me," Spike said ruefully.   
  
"They'll understand when the time is right," Beltaine answered philosophically. "I suspect that many strange alliances will be made before the final war begins."  
  
"Yeah," said a young woman who sat across from Mr. Beltaine. "Like me and you, Spikester."  
  
"Believe me, ducks," Spike grinned, "I can think of other people I'd rather be with. Hell, even Brooding Boy would be an improvement."  
  
"Enough, children," Beltaine cut them off in a quietly bemused voice. "We have preparations to make. And you, my child," he turned toward the young woman vampire who now stuck out her tongue at Spike, "will be instrumental."  
  
"Oh goody," she grinned.   
  
"Yes," Beltaine smiled. "I thought that you'd be--what was that peculiar phrase you employ so frequently? Ah, yes, five-by-five with it."  
  
The vampire who was once a woman named Faith smiled at her new master. Yes, she decided, this new life had potential.   
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
  
Atlantic Ocean, 1665   
  
She awoke to the sensation of swaying, and the stink of dead fish. She opened her eyes, and her worst fears were confirmed. She was in the cargo hold of a galleon, and the pitch of the boat threatened to empty her stomach. She glanced around and saw him. Her guardian. Her Watcher. And now, her enemy.   
  
"Where are we?" she shouted to the severe figure sitting before her. "Where's Charity?"  
  
"We are on our way back to England," the Watcher answered, his voice laced with condemnation. "That is all that need concern you at this time."  
  
"What happened to Charity, Goodman Carter?"  
  
"Charity Weber is no longer any concern of yours, Patience Jones," Watcher Carter intoned. "Your unholy lusts will be purged once we return to the Watcher's Council."  
  
"Unholy--" Patience stammered as the realization hit her. "You had her hung for witchcraft."  
  
"She condemned herself," the Watcher stated, no emotion in his voice. "With her godless ways, her consorting with the Devil, her seduction of you. She turned you away from your calling. I am only thinking of you."  
  
Patience could say no more as her grief consumed her. She and Charity had shared something special, something truly holy, something that this fool of a watcher could never understand. And now it was ripped from her, like a rent garment. And now she faced the punishment of her masters, the Watcher's Council, and there was naught that she could do against her fate. Indentured as she was to Watcher Parker, she had no choice but to mourn her beloved Charity.   
  
And she would mourn. For the rest of her short life.   
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
Buffy awoke with a tightness in her chest. She could sense that she was sobbing, and as her eyes opened, she saw Willow leaning over her, concern clouding her green eyes. "Hey, honey," Willow soothed. "Did you have a nightmare?"  
  
"That obvious, was it?"  
  
"You were crying in your sleep, Buff," Willow said as she stroked her lover's cheek. "Something about Charity. You had lost Charity." Buffy didn't miss the bemused expression on Willow's face as she spoke.   
  
"Charity?" Buffy asked to herself, "I think Charity was you."  
  
"Good answer," Willow teased. Buffy stuck her tongue out at Willow.   
  
"I was on a ship," Buffy answered. "Headed for England. It was late seventeenth century, Puritan New England."  
  
"Salem witch trials?" Willow ventured a guess.   
  
"Yeah, like that," Buffy nodded. "And I was being taken away from you. I was named Patience, and you were Charity. And I knew that you had been hung for witchcraft." Buffy could scarcely continue, as her tears started to flow again. The thought of losing Willow, now that they were to be married, was almost too much for Buffy's heart to bear.   
  
"Oh, Buffy," Willow took Buffy's head in her lap, and comforted her beloved silently. As Buffy's tension melted away under the warmth of Willow's love, Willow felt a knot of tension tightening in her gut. She too had a dream that night.   
  
In the dream, she was Charity Weber, a woman who dared to love another woman, Patience Jones. And for that love, she was named witch, and hung.   
  
As Buffy went back to sleep in her arms, Willow felt a shiver down her spine. First she dreamed of being a tribal shamaness, then a priestess of Isis in ancient Egypt, now a Puritan witch. And Buffy evidently was having corresponding dreams.   
  
She had to ask Giles about the dreams. She had to know what they meant.   
  
For now, all she could do was hold her beloved Buffy in her arms and try to sleep. She kissed Buffy on her forehead and whispered, "I love you, Buffy," and allowed her body to relax long enough to fall asleep.   
  
  



	3. Battlelines Being Drawn

  
Disclaimers;   
I own Mr. Beltaine, Sandra Ogawa, Denise Parkinson and the Hell's Belles, all others are owned by the mighty Joss Whedon. I'm just playing in his dark sandbox.   
  
Rating; PG-13 to R   
  
Author's note;   
This is the continuation of my series, "Somewhere I Have Never Traveled", my own personal epic. I'm looking at a trilogy, and now that I have a threat worthy of the mighty Slayer, I'm looking forward to springing it on you. Summary;   
  
Buffy and Willow are reunited after the Slayer's return from Hell. But what are these strange dreams that Buffy is having? Who is the mysterious Mr. Beltaine? Where do Spike and Darla figure? And what happened to Faith?   
  
Spoiler; Fourth Season up to "Hush" and "I Will Remember You"; Angel the Series   
  
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
  
Somewhere I Have Never Travelled  
Book Two; The Sang Real   
Written by Kirayoshi   
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
  
Chapter 3  
  
Battlelines Being Drawn   
  
There's battlelines being drawn,   
Nobody's right if everybody's wrong.   
Young people speaking their minds,   
Getting so much resistance from behind,   
  
I think it's time we   
STOP!   
Children, what's that sound,   
Everybody look what's going down."   
  
--Buffalo Springfield   
"For What It's Worth"   
  
Willow found herself facing a sense of deja-vu as she headed up the steps to Giles' townhouse. A few weeks ago, she and the rest of the Slayerettes gathered here to question the new slayer, Sandra Ogawa. Later that evening, Angel had arrived to inform them that Buffy was still alive, and trapped in the bowels of Hell.   
  
Before that, the last time that the Scooby Gang met was under unpleasant circumstances. They had gathered to deal with Adam, but the cyber-zombie's ally Spike had started spreading wild rumors, innuendo and outright lies, in an effort to turn the Scoobies against each other. He almost succeeded, nearly convincing Buffy that Willow was having an affair with Tara, while convincing Xander that Buffy and Willow had no room in their lives for him anymore. The shouting match between Buffy and Willow over Tara might have ended their newborn love for each other if Buffy hadn't mentioned that Spike was her source of 'information' regarding Tara. Once they realized that Spike was behind their argument, they had made up, in time for their final battle with Adam.   
  
Where Oz had dealt the final betrayal, the one that had taken Buffy away from Willow for over a year.   
  
Pausing long enough to curse Oz's soul to Hell for eternity, Willow had cast those thoughts from her mind. She had Buffy again, and wore a ring on her finger to remind her of Buffy's love, and she had the love of her friends.   
  
And her friends needed her now.   
  
She felt a pang of guilt at lying to Buffy about the afternoon meeting. Buffy's memory still hadn't returned, and Willow was getting concerned. She still didn't discuss any of the more esoteric facts of their life together, like Buffy being the Slayer, and Willow being a practicing wiccan, and a rather powerful one at that. After all, it was her faith in Buffy, her love for her slayer, that freed her from suspended animation while in Hell. A far cry from her pencil floating days.   
  
But she still didn't know how to free Buffy's memories. And what she did remember didn't make sense. Buffy told her about a sensual experience she had with Angel, recalling that it happened less than a month before Buffy and Willow confessed their love for each other. But Willow knew that Buffy and Angel consummated their star-crossed love only once, during Buffy's junior year of high school. That terrible night when one moment of joy, unmarred by guilt for his past sins, robbed Angel of his soul.   
  
And the dreams that she and Buffy were apparently sharing, they made even less sense. Why would Buffy remember living in the 16-hundreds? Why would Willow? If the dream weren't so clear in Willow's mind, even after waking, she wouldn't be worried. But she could still recall the sour-faced priest condemning her soul for blasphemy, she could still feel the coarse rope binding her hands, the noose around her neck, the sickening sensation of the noose being pulled, of her body being wrenched off the ground, of her breath being strangled out of her.   
  
That's why she decided to meet Giles a few minutes before the rest of the Scoobs arrived. She needed answers, for her sake and for the sake of the woman whom she planned to marry.   
  
She swallowed hard, as she knocked on the front door. A few seconds later, Giles opened the door. "Willow," he greeted her with a warm smile. "I wasn't expecting you here for a few minutes yet."   
  
"Yeah, sorry Giles," Willow answered hastily, as Giles ushered her in. "But there's some developments on the Buffy front I thought you should know. Privately."   
  
"I understand," Giles nodded. "And please, no need to apologize. Is her memory returning?"   
  
"Uh, I'm not sure," Willow hedged. "She's remembering stuff that she shouldn't. And so am I."   
  
Giles pursed his lips in thought and said, "Perhaps you had better sit down and collect yourself. I had just put the kettle on. Would you care for some tea?"   
  
"You have any chamomile?" Willow asked. Giles left for the kitchen, and Willow took what had become her usual seat on the sofa when the Scooby Gang met at Giles' house. A minute later, Willow heard a brief whistle, and shortly after that, Giles entered the living room with two cups of tea. He handed one to Willow, who accepted with thanks. As he sat in his favorite chair with his Earl Gray, he said, "Now then, Willow. Perhaps you can explain what you and Buffy are remembering."   
  
"Well," Willow started, "we've had these weird dreams. At first I thought it was just me, but from what Buffy said last night, we've both had them." She gazed in rapt attention at her teacup as she recalled what happened. "Actually, first it was Buffy. When she got back from the hospital, we were having ice cream, and, well, she remembered a night she had with Angel. Only she didn't have it."   
  
"Let me guess," a dark, quiet voice issued from the stairwell. "Crunchy peanut butter and cookie-dough chocolate mint chip ice cream."   
  
Willow snapped her head toward the voice, and gawked. "Angel! What are you doing here?"   
  
"I came here last night when Giles had received a call from Wesley. I stayed overnight in the spare room." Angel walked down the stairs with his usual coiled grace. In response to Willow's concerned look, Angel added, "Don't worry, I'm fine as long as I keep out of direct sunlight." He took a place near the couch, crouching lightly. "Oh, before I forget, congratulations. I saw the ring from over here."   
  
"Ring?" Giles asked suddenly, looking at Willow, as she self-consciously displayed her engagement ring. "Did Buffy--" Giles started, only to see Willow nod vigorously, grinning broadly. "Well, congratulations indeed." He raised his tea cup, saying, "To Buffy and Willow."   
  
Angel nodded in agreement, adding, "Keep her happy, Willow."   
  
"Thanks, Angel, Giles," Willow blushed. "But getting back on topic, how did you know about the peanut butter and ice cream?"   
  
"That night did happen, after a fashion," Angel said. "When Buffy confronted me in L. A. over my stalking her over Thanksgiving, we found ourselves fighting a demon. He cut me with his sword, then his blood got into my wound. His blood made me mortal, and Buffy and I--" he stalled as Willow turned her head. "I'm sorry, Willow."   
  
"Don't be," Willow said simply. "That was before we got together. But why didn't she talk about this before? And if you were mortal, how come you're still a vamp?"   
  
"The Oracles told me that if I remained mortal, Buffy would die. So I gave up my humanity to save her. The only way for me to do that was for the Oracles to turn back time so that the day I was mortal would never happen. I would remember it, but no one else would. Buffy tried to remember that time, but once the day was repeated, it was lost to her." Angel sighed. "Until now, I guess."   
  
"Whoa," Willow muttered. "I guess. Must have been the ice cream. But she still doesn't remember you being a vampire, or anything Slayer-ish. But she had a weird-ass dream last night. And I think I had the same dream, or at least a matching dream from my perspective. Y'see, it was 1665, and I was a woman named Charity Weber, and Buffy said that in her dream she was Patience Jones--"   
  
"And she was being hauled back to England to be judged, and ultimately hung, by the Watcher's Council," Giles intoned solemnly.   
  
Angel and Willow looked at Giles in shock. Willow had to ask, "You didn't have the same dream, did you?"   
  
"No, Willow," he answered darkly, "but I am aware of the details." He pulled off his glasses and wiped them with a tissue, before launching into full Watcher mode; "Patience Jones was the Slayer of her generation. And by all accounts she was an effective Slayer, having defended her colony in Salem, Massachusetts from vampires. But she was a rebel, as Slayers often are. Unconventional, outspoken. And at that time, Slayers were made into indentured servants of their Watchers, to explain their relationship away from prying eyes. When Patience became involved with a young girl named Charity Weber, the townspeople saw their 'unnatural closeness' as a sign of the Devil in their midst.   
  
"The town leaders leveled trumped-up charges of witchcraft, lead by Patience's Watcher. He arraigned for her to be taken to England, where she would answer to the Council for her 'unholy' acts and was ultimately hung on Council's orders, while Charity herself was hung for witchcraft. A charge that has never been proven, I might add."   
  
"I think she was," Willow said suddenly. "At least in my dream, I knew that I was a witch. I think I, I mean Charity, got off a couple of good curses before she was hung."   
  
Giles nodded understandingly. "That seems to confirm what Denise had shown me regarding Watcher's history. She showed me a forgotten text that was once of great importance to the Council, a text that indicates that the Slayer must join with a mage if she is to be powerful enough to take on the evils she is destined to face. Buffy has clearly done so with you, however the Council had long ago suppressed this knowledge. Later tonight when Denise is here, we can go over the details."   
  
"I look forward to that," Willow agreed, just as a knock was heard at the door.   
  
Giles, putting the matter of Willow's dreams behind him for now, greeted Xander and Cordelia as they entered his house, with Tara, Sandra Ogawa and Denise Parkinson right behind them. Xander nodded to Angel, who acknowledged his presence and said no more. Cordy hugged her former boss, who smiled at her. "So, you two are making it legal?" Angel asked Cordy.   
  
"Yeah," she answered smiling, as Xander placed a protective arm on her shoulder. "We're talking about having a night ceremony. That way, you can give me away."   
  
"I'd be honored," Angel smiled. Xander said nothing, knowing that it was the bride-to-be's place to make the arrangements for the ceremony, and finally accepting that Angel was not the enemy. Now that he wasn't in danger of ever losing his soul again, it was easier for the rest of the Scoobs to distinguish between their friend Angel and the demon Angelus.   
  
The others had taken their seats, and Willow noted with amused interest that Tara and Sandra sat together on the couch next to her, holding hands. Another Slayer/Wiccan match, Willow thought, smiling. They'll need to look at Denise's book later also.   
  
Giles, always the proper host, emerged from the kitchen with a tray containing several teacups, a teapot, and a stash of teabags. He placed the tray on the coffee table and permitted his guests to help themselves. Before anyone could pour themselves any tea, the teapot lifted itself off the tray, and started to pour its contents into each cup. Teabags emerged from their box and dropped, one into each cup. The cups then levitated one at a time to each guest, Cordelia's first.   
  
As the others watched this phenomenon with slack jaws, Angel and Cordy took it in stride. "Looks like your friend came along for the ride," Angel offered.   
  
"Thanks, Dennis," Cordy said as she accepted her teacup. To the others, she announced, "Guys, this is Phantom Dennis, he's a ghost. I met him in L. A., he was haunting my apartment. He's a nice guy once you get to know him."   
  
Xander looked at the teacup in Cordy's hand. "Ooh-kay, as long as he knows that we're getting married."   
  
Another cup floated in front of him, and Cordy said, "Don't worry, Xander, he likes you. And he won't play voyeur, will you, Dennis?"   
  
Xander took the cup and said, "He'd better, I know Peter Venkman's home phone number." Cordy just snickered at the reference.   
  
"Now then," Giles said as the last of the tea was distributed by Cordy's ghostly friend, "we have some matters to discuss. First item of business, the sighting of this Mister Beltaine. Xander, Cordelia, the two of you were the only people to have any contact with him, what can you tell me?"   
  
"Only what he told us," Xander said. "He said he was a vampire, that he had a soul, and that he needed to talk to you, G-Man. He said that he'd contact you when he needed to."   
  
"Yeah, he knew your name, Giles," Cordy added. "He said something about a great power afoot. Hmph, pretentious much?"   
  
"Hmm, Denise," Giles asked his fellow Watcher. "Do you know of any vampires named Beltaine?"   
  
"Nothing that rings a bell," Denise admitted. "If he really is a vampire and not a pretender, it sounds like he's an older vampire, in full control of his nature."   
  
"Interesting name though," Tara added. "Beltaine is the feast of Spring, the vernal equinox, in most pagan traditions. The maypole comes from that tradition."   
  
"You want me to play Research Girl later?" Willow offered.   
  
"If you wish," Giles answered. "I suspect that we won't find much about him. He said he would contact me. I will wait until then." The others nodded in agreement.   
  
"Now then," Giles added, "Item two. A new band of vampires have come to Sunnydale. What did they call themselves, Hell's Ladies?"   
  
"Hell's Belles," Sandra corrected. "They looked like extras from 'Grease'. And they have the advantage of speed. They ride Harleys. Tara and I ran into them last night, but before I could dust their leader, Rizzo, another vamp threatened Tara. She then left with the bikers. Her name was Darla, I think."   
  
"Darla?" Xander groaned, a sentiment that was shared by the veteran Slayerettes. "I could have happily lived my life without ever hearing that name again."   
  
"Yeah," Willow added. "I could've sworn she was an affirmative in the 'Slain' column."   
  
"You can thank Lindsay and the senior execs at Wolfram and Hart for resurrecting her," Cordy groaned. "They brought her back in an effort to take down Angel over a year ago. She then struck out on her own. But why would she hook up with these Happy Days fugitives?"   
  
"Perhaps she's building an army," Tara suggested. "Kinda like what Adam was doing with the demons captured by the Initiative."   
  
"Possibly," Denise commented. "I would suggest extra caution in future patrols. Giles, I would appreciate any information you have on this Darla. I take it you faced her before."   
  
"We have," Angel nodded grimly. "She was my sire. I can give you more details later."   
  
After Sandra and Denise agreed to meet with Angel later, Giles continued. "Next, item three; I have some distressing news to report. Last night, I was informed by Wesley Whyndam-Price of the apparent death of Faith in a prison attack."   
  
"Uh, wait," Willow asked, "what do you mean 'apparent'?"   
  
"I was in touch with Wesley this morning, just before sunrise," Angel answered. "Her body was never found. And word on the street is that a gang of vampires has become quite powerful among the inmates." He left his statement hanging intentionally, as the implications became clear.   
  
After a few seconds of startled silence, Xander was the first to speak; "So what you're saying, Angel, is that La Slayer Loca is a vamp, and out of stir?" Angel nodded. "I gotta tell ya, D.B., I've gone to bed with nicer thoughts."   
  
"Don't worry, Xander," Cordy cuddled up to her fiancee. "I'll give you something nice to go to bed with."   
  
"You're loaning me your teddy bear?" Xander quipped, only to be playfully slapped by Cordy.   
  
"Please, if we could control our hormones until we get home," Giles admonished the young lovers. "Sandra, Tara, if Faith is indeed a vampire, and if she is on her way to Sunnydale, I would advise you to be especially cautious. She was dangerous as a Slayer, there's no telling how powerful she is now that she's a vampire. Especially without a soul to hinder her."   
  
"Yeah," Willow groaned. "Like having a soul made any difference to her." She still harbored memories of the last time she was alone with Faith. At the time, Faith had used a spell to forcibly swap bodies with Buffy. Faith, in Buffy's body, then visited Willow and proceeded to take her to bed. Willow, sensing nothing amiss at first, returned 'Buffy's' affections, only to have her lover take her roughly, savagely. Willow had tried to control the direction of their lovemaking, but 'Buffy' was not to be denied. It was only after the fact, when Willow lay sprawled and bruised on her bed, with the real Buffy gently rubbing salve onto her aches, when Willow realized how she had been used by Faith.   
  
Buffy assured her that she didn't blame Willow for what had happened. But Willow still blamed herself. She felt guilty for not seeing how Buffy's soul had been fragmented, ripped out of her body. And with Oz's return, followed by Spike's efforts to drive the gang against each other, it was a miracle that their love survived. And now, despite Oz's betrayal, Willow had her beloved back. And she vowed never to lose her again.   
  
"What this all boils down to, guys," Xander suggested, "is that we need Buffy back. Stat." His words were met by general agreement from the others.   
  
"You are quite right, Xander," Giles reluctantly admitted. "Willow, I want you to watch over her the next day or so. If her memory shows no sign of recovering, I want you to bring her to me. Hopefully we can get to the bottom of this. I hate to rob the two of you of a hard-earned peace, but we need her."   
  
"I understand," Willow said solemnly. "I think those dreams we've been having are a sign of her trying to remember."   
  
"Possibly. We'll know soon enough. Oh, and finally, for those who haven't heard, congratulations are in order for Willow and Buffy, as well as Xander and Cordelia. Both couples, it seems, are to be married." Denise, Sandra and Tara cheered the happy couples, while Angel smiled quietly from his perch.   
  
"Congratulations, Willow," Tara embraced her friend. "I hope you both are very happy together."   
  
"Thanks," Willow smiled at Tara. She knew that Tara was once attracted to her, but had accepted that Buffy alone held the key to Willow's happiness. And now, Willow observed, Tara seemed to find some happiness with the new Slayer, Sandra. "Same for the two of you."   
  
The meeting died down from there, as Xander left for the precinct house to start his beat, Sandra prepared to begin her patrol, and the others left for their various errands. All knew the same secret.   
  
There was a darkness on the horizon. And there was no certainty of how it would end.   
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
  
Three vampires waited in an abandoned garage for their leader. Rizzo was replacing some worn parts on her Harley-Davison, while Frenchie snapped her gum and Leather simply laid back on a tattered sofa. "So, when's our new leader going to show?" Frenchie asked Rizzo.   
  
"When she shows, all right?" Rizzo went back to her repair work. "So far, she's done right by us. And she's got something big planned for this burg. I say we tag along and see what's happening."   
  
"A wise decision, my dear," a honeyed voice echoed through the warehouse. A tall blond vampire emerged from the shadows, as Rizzo put down her wrench and sat up, paying attention to the older vampire's words.   
  
"In this town, we are now the hunted," Darla explained. "The Slayer and those who follow her, they will not rest until we are impaled on their stakes. That is not right. We are the predators, they are the prey. That is why I have come here. To restore the natural order. Soon, we will bring forth an ally, a being of such power that none can withstand her. Soon, Lady Bathory will lead us to our final victory against the Slayer, and this world will be ours. Can I count on your support, my friends?"   
  
"Hey," Leather grunted from her seat, "if it means more blood for us, you got it." Frenchie and Rizzo nodded in agreement. Darla smiled at her new lieutenants. This army would soon be joined by others, and soon the Slayer would be eliminated.   
  
She didn't notice a dark haired woman in the rafters high above her. The dark woman sat quietly, and heard and saw all. She made her way to the skylight overhead, and scooted up without being noticed by the vampire gang.   
  
The interloper jumped from the roof of the warehouse, and swiftly headed toward Wetherly Park. As she headed for the park, she pulled out a cell phone, and dialed a private number. She heard a ring, then a rich baritone voice. "Report, Faith."   
  
"Mr. B." Faith answered. "Darla's taken over the Hell's Belles. She said something about Bathory, whoever she is. Some kind of summoning."   
  
"Damn," Mr. Beltaine muttered. "They're on the move. Tomorrow night, we must contact Giles. And pray that Buffy Summers can help us."   
  
"Yeah, like B will be falling over herself to help the chick who screwed her girlfriend," Faith said ruefully. "She and Red will be playing 'Rock, Paper, Scissors' to decide who stakes me."   
  
"You will be safe, I assure you. I will be with you, and they will understand the truth. Meet Spike and me at the residence. You can brief us more fully there. Beltaine out." The connection was cut. Faith puffed a sigh, and headed out for Mr. Beltaine's place.   
  
She would have to confront Buffy Summers soon. She hoped that Buffy would listen to her first. She wasn't the same person she was before.   
  
Not since she was turned. And certainly not since Mr. Beltaine's magicks bonded her soul to her. She had a second chance, to undue the damage she had done in life.   
  
Yeah, like B would believe that, she thought as she disappeared into the night.   
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
  
London, England; 1889   
  
"Mina, my beloved," Elisabeth Somerset demanded of her companion "Is there one man in Scotland Yard who is not a complete fool?"   
  
"I do not know, dearest Betsy," the young redhead next to her answered. Wilhemina Rose seemed an incongruous match with the outspoken suffragette, especially in her dresses and petticoats, where Elisabeth dressed like a man. Her dress, coupled with her political opinions and her assertive manner, ultimately led to her parents disinheriting her and casting her out of their house forever, but she didn't mind. Not so long as she had her mission as the Slayer to occupy her, the support of her Watcher and the love and companionship of her love, Mina.   
  
"They are all idiots!" Betsy continued her tirade against the London constabulary. "They think this 'Jack the Ripper' is some kind of common killer, but we both know better. He's an inhuman monster, a nosferatu. A vampire."   
  
"And do you really believe the officers of Scotland Yard to accept such a supernatural explanation? Dr. Doyle had tried to explain this reality to them, but they refused to hear."   
  
"Indeed," Betsy fumed. "Or they simply decided that the prostitutes of Whitechapel weren't worth the effort to defend."   
  
"If he is such a beast as you say," Mina assured her lover, "then we will end his evil together. It is your calling, isn't it? Just as it is my place to fight beside you."   
  
"You are a tonic to me, Mina," Betsy smiled at the young mage. "Tonight, at Whitechapel, he will strike. We will patrol there, and then, we will put him down like the rabid dog he is."   
  
The patrol went by silently, as the two young women sought any sign of the vile monster who had preyed on the unfortunate women of Whitechapel. Mina Rose nervously stayed close to her love's side, at one point asking, "Are you certain it is a vampire? Why would he use a blade instead of his fangs?"   
  
"Because the blade would be explained away as the actions of a deranged mind," Betsy explained patiently, "while two puncture marks on the neck would lead to more suspicions. It is like our Watcher said; 'When you have eliminated the impossible...',"   
  
"'Whatever remains, however improbable'," Mina finished the oft-quoted words, "'Must be the truth'. Very well, Betsy. But I do hope we can get away from this god-awful night air soon. I could murder for someone to draw a nice hot bath."   
  
"I will gladly volunteer for that pleasant duty," Betsy announced, "provided you will let me join you."   
  
"Naturally," the young witch dimpled. Their banter was interrupted by a crash of splintered wood as an inhumanly strong figure broke through the door beside them.   
  
"Oh, no, my little pretties," the monster exclaimed through wickedly pointed teeth. "I'll be doing the bathing tonight, Slayer. In your blood!"   
  
"So, Ripper," Betsy stood her ground, as the vampire stalked toward them. "Not a bad scam you're running here. Slaughter young women, drain their blood, and then slash them with your knife to hide evidence of vampire attack!"   
  
"Those whores won't be missed, Slayer," the beast mocked her, as he lunged toward her. "And neither will a pair of lesbians like yourselves!"   
  
"Keep your disgusting hands off of Betsy!" Mina shouted as she tossed a small bag of herbs at the vampire. The twice-blessed herbs had been treated with Holy Water, and when they landed on the vampire's face, they burned like acid.   
  
The beast screamed, the pain only making it madder. "You whore!" he shouted. He raked her face, his fingers as claws, knocking her down hard against the cold cobblestones.   
  
Betsy, enraged at how the Ripper had assaulted her Mina, launched herself at the vampire. "You will not raise a hand against another helpless woman again!" she shouted, as her fists struck the vampire in a rapid flurry of punches.   
  
If her attack had harmed her opponent, he didn't show it. He grabbed her wrist and twisted it hard, breaking her arm. "Sorry, peaches," he smiled ferally, "but I win this bout. You're not the first Slayer I've taken out. And you won't be the last." As he lowered his mouth to the helpless woman's neck, he added, "And when you and your little sapphic whore meet Lucifer, tell him William the Bloody sent you!"   
  
Those were the last words Betsy Somerset heard as her world plunged into a final blackness.   
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
  
Buffy bolted up from her slumber, her hair matted against her head, her heart beating like a Ginger Baker drum solo. Her breath came in deep gasps, as the sensation of being murdered by that unholy creature replayed in her mind. She knew in her mind and heart that such a creature shouldn't, couldn't exist.   
  
But at the same time, she knew that vampires were real. And that she had faced them.   
  
"Buffy?" a worried voice whispered behind her. She felt Willow's arms around her shoulders, and sensed the tension in her lover's muscles. "Another nightmare?"   
  
"Oh God, Willow," Buffy sobbed into tears in Willow's arms. "It was terrible, I saw you, you were being attacked by a vampire! He killed me! Oh, Willow, what's happening to me?"   
  
"Shh, shh," Willow soothed, stroking Buffy's hair. "It's okay, sweetie. I'm here. Jack the Ripper's not gonna get to you."   
  
"It seemed so real, though, Wills," Buffy lamented. "I could smell the streets, I could feel his fangs on my neck, I--" she stopped and held Willow at arms length. A puzzled expression crossed her face. "You said 'Jack the Ripper'. But I never mentioned him. How did you know?"   
  
Willow turned away from Buffy, but Buffy drew her face back to hers with a firm hand. "What's happening, Wills?"   
  
"Buffy," Willow choked on the words. "I've been having the same dreams as you. First, I dreamed that I was a priestess in Egypt, then I was a puritan in Salem, and tonight, I dreamed of Jack the Ripper."   
  
Buffy looked at her fiancee, amazed. She swallowed hard, and asked the one question she dreaded to ask; "What the hell am I?"   
  
Willow stared intently into Buffy's smoky blue eyes, and answered. "You're the Slayer. I don't know if I can say anything that will make any sense. I'm sorry."   
  
"No, Wills," Buffy held her tightly. "Don't ever be sorry. I know. I know I'm a Slayer, I just don't understand what that means. I know I've lived a tough life. And I wish I could explain it any better, but I sense that I've lived all these lives I've been dreaming about before. And in each life, there was you."   
  
"Yeah," Willow answered, wiping her eyes with the corner of their comforter. "I feel that too. Don't ask me how, but I know it's right."   
  
Buffy looked back into the face she loved so much, and asked, "What are we gonna do?"   
  
"Shush, Buffy," Willow said softly, encouraging her love to lie down in her arms. "We'll see Giles tomorrow. He'll help you find out what you are. What we are."   
  
"Okay, Wills," Buffy tried to smile for Willow's benefit. "Love you."   
  
"Love you too," Willow whispered, as she could feel her lover go back to sleep in her arms. She hoped that this would be the last night that she and Buffy would have these nightmares.   
  
But between Faith and Darla, she sensed that the nightmares were just beginning.   
  
  
  



	4. An Angel With Her Hand On My Head

  
Disclaimers;   
I own Mr. Beltaine, Sandra Ogawa, Denise Parkinson and the Hell's Belles, all others are owned by the mighty Joss Whedon. I'm just playing in his dark sandbox.   
  
Rating; PG-13 to R   
Author's note;   
This is the continuation of my series, "Somewhere I Have Never Traveled", my own personal epic. I'm looking at a trilogy, and now that I have a threat worthy of the mighty Slayer, I'm looking forward to springing it on you. Summary;   
Buffy and Willow are reunited after the Slayer's return from Hell. But what are these strange dreams that Buffy is having? Who is the mysterious Mr. Beltaine? Where do Spike and Darla figure? And what happened to Faith? Spoiler; Fourth Season up to "Hush" and "I Will Remember You"; Angel the Series   
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
  
Somewhere I Have Never Travelled   
Book Two; The Sang Real   
Written by Kirayoshi   
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
  
(Note; this chapter contains spoilers and actual dialogue from "Welcome to the Hellmouth", "Prophesy Girl", "What's My Line", "Innocence", "Becoming part II", "Dead Man's Party", "Helpless", "Dopplegangland", "Bad Girls", "Choices" and "Graduation part I", as well as a scene from "The Yoko Factor" that I rewrote to fit my skewered continuity, plus my own earlier story, "The Dying Of The Light". Got all that?   
  
Italicized text between   
indicates flashbacks.)   
  
Chapter 4   
An Angel With A Hand On My Head   
  
Hey now, all you sinners,   
Put your lights on,   
Put your lights on.   
Hey now, all you lovers,   
Put your lights on,   
Put your lights on.   
  
Hey now, all you killers,   
Put your lights on,   
Put your lights on.   
Hey now, all you children,   
Leave your lights on,   
Leave your lights on.   
  
Because there's a monster living under my bed,   
Whispering in my ear,   
There's an angel with a hand on my head   
She says I've got nothing to fear.   
  
There's a darkness, deep in my soul,   
I still got a purpose to serve,   
So let your light shine, into my home,   
God don't let me lose my nerve.   
  
--Santana with Everlast   
"Put Your Lights On"   
  
  
Giles and Denise had just finished translating the texts for the Slayer's Handfasting, when he heard a knock at the door. Answering the door, he was taken aback by the sight of Buffy and Willow, looking as though a terrible burden had been weighing down upon them. Willow maintained a look of grim determination(what was universally known among the Scooby Gang as her 'resolve face'), while Buffy looked dazed and lost.   
  
"Buffy, Willow, come in," Giles ushered them inside immediately. "You haven't met Denise Parkinson, have you, Buffy?" Denise waved silently at the two girls as they entered the living room. He offered them tea, but they refused. They sat down together on his sofa, and Willow held Buffy in her arms. Giles noted that this was not a romantic gesture as he had grown used to seeing from the two of them. Clearly, Willow was comforting Buffy, easing some terrible pain. He only hoped that Buffy would tell him what was hurting her, although from Willow's frantic phone call earlier that day, he knew the root cause of her distress.   
  
As Willow stroked her fiancee's hair and murmured encouragements in her ear, Buffy finally managed to compose herself, and, staring Giles directly in the face, asked "What am I, Giles?"   
  
Giles regarded Buffy with the expression of a concerned parent. "What do you think you are?"   
  
Buffy paused and collected her thoughts. "I'm Buffy Summers. I'm a college student, I'm going to marry Willow," Willow squeezed her hand as she spoke, "and apparently, I'm something called a Slayer." She lowered her head, muttering in anguish, "Whatever that means."   
  
Giles exhaled deeply. He considered going into the same familiar speech he had given Buffy when they first met; In every generation there is the Chosen One. She alone will fight the vampires, the demons and the forces of Darkness, she is the Slayer. But he knew that wouldn't wash in this instance. "Buffy," he started, hoping to approach the problem from another angle, "Willow tells me that the two of you have had some unusual dreams. Would you care to discuss them? You don't have to if--"   
  
"No prob, Giles," Buffy interrupted. "Maybe you can figure them out. I sure as hell can't."   
  
She then related her latest dream, where she and Willow were living in Victorian London, and had been tracking the nefarious Jack the Ripper through the dark streets of Whitechapel. "It was nuts, Giles, I was called Betsy Somerset, while Willow was, what was that name again?" she asked her partner on the sofa.   
  
"Mina Rose, I think," Willow answered.   
  
"Weren't you on the Titanic with Jack Dawson?" Willow giggled at the pop-culture reference, relieving some of the tension. "Well, Mina and I found ourselves facing a--God, I don't know, I guess he was some kind of," she swallowed as she expressed this impossibility, "a vampire. He called himself William the Bloody--"   
  
"Spike," Giles hissed under his breath.   
  
"Who?" Denise asked.   
  
"Never mind, Denise. Just a passing thought."   
  
"Yeah," Willow said. "The thing is, I had the same dream as well, only from the point of view of Mina. It was like we were these people before, we had all their memories, we felt them die in the dream. And this wasn't the first dream we shared."   
  
"I see." Giles sipped his tea as he thought. "Denise, do you recognize these names?"   
  
"I do, Giles," Denise answered. She glanced at Willow and Buffy, and said, "Elisabeth 'Betsy' Somerset was the daughter of a wealthy family who was called to fight evil as the Slayer. She severed all ties with her family, who didn't understand what she really was, and joined together with a woman named Wilhemina Rose to fight the evil that resided in the streets of London. Hmm. Interesting similarity in names; Wilhemina Rose, Willow Rosenberg. Betsy Somerset, Buffy Summers." "I don't recall reading her name in any of the Watchers' records."   
  
"They tried to cover her up, Giles," Denise commented, "because of her unconventional lifestyle. It was known that Betsy and Mina were openly in love, and rumors persisted that Mina was a practicing wiccan. However, their own Watcher was inordinately proud of his charge, and I recently discovered his journals on her. Interesting fact, Giles, but Betsy's Watcher was none other than Dr. Arthur Conan Doyle." "You mean the guy who wrote Sherlock Holmes?" Willow beamed at the thought. "Hey, you could probably sell those journals as a horror novel and make a fortune!"   
  
"Uh guys," Buffy interrupted, "getting back to the topic, so you're saying that this Betsy person is a Slayer? And that I'm a Slayer like her?"   
  
"Exactly." Giles answered.   
  
"And how long have I been the Slayer?"   
  
Giles answered calmly, "For the last five years of your life. And you have been one of the best."   
  
"Yeah, thanks," Buffy sneered. "But something tells me that this is one gig I wouldn't have chosen."   
  
"You didn't," Giles answered with a slight smile, "and you have told me as much in the past."   
  
"Let me guess, you're my Watcher?" Giles nodded, and Buffy shook her head in anguish. "So I've gone to the mat against things that would make Wes Craven lose his lunch, but I still can't remember them. God, what's happened to me?" And she buried her head in Willow's hair.   
  
A palpable silence reigned as Buffy's question hung over them like a huge weight suspended by a fraying wire. Finally Giles said in a soft voice, "Buffy, it is possible that your memory has been blocked by an unknown trauma. I believe I can help free your memories, but you would have to trust me. I would like to place you in a state of light hypnosis--"   
  
"A-hem," Willow growled at Giles, her eyes smoldering. Giles cleared his throat nervously. They remembered what happened the last time Giles had hypnotized Buffy.   
  
"This is entirely voluntary, Buffy," he amended swiftly. "You would still be aware of your surroundings, and you would remember the experience of being hypnotized, but under that state, you and I would be able to free your memories. And I would insist on Willow and Denise staying in the room with us to monitor you in this state. It is entirely up to you."   
  
Buffy looked at Willow, her expression an unspoken question. "I never trusted hypnosis, Buffy," she said warmly, "but I trust Giles."   
  
Buffy smiled at Willow. "Okay, Wills, if you trust him." Looking at Giles, she added, "So, break out the swinging watch, or whatever."   
  
"Nothing so melodramatic, Buffy," Giles chuckled. "Just sit still and relax." His voice began to take on a slow measured cadence, and dropped to a soothing monotone. "Relax, Buffy. Feel the tension easing away from your limbs, from your shoulders, from your back. Breath normally, Buffy, slowly. Do you understand?" "Yes," Buffy muttered simply. "Now, I am going to count to five. When I reach five, you will be placed in a light hypnotic state. In that state you will hear my voice, and can respond freely to my questions. Do you understand?" "Yes." "Good. One. Your eyelids are getting heavy. Two. And heavier. Three. You have to close your eyes. Four. You are completely relaxed. Five." He looked at Buffy and was pleased that she was placed so easily in this state. He glanced at Willow, and mentally kicked himself. Her eyes were closed and she breathed at the same rate as Buffy.   
  
Denise chuckled at Giles' predicament, then leaned in toward Willow and snapped her fingers close to Willow's ear. Willow blinked suddenly, saying, "I'll take Gilbert Gottfried to block." She looked around, asking, "What happened?"   
  
"You went under as Buffy was going," Denise said softly.   
  
"How come you didn't?" Willow asked.   
  
Denise smiled. "Watcher's training."   
  
Giles silenced the two women, then addressed Buffy. "Buffy, can you hear me?"   
  
"Yes, Giles."   
  
"Buffy, do you remember waking up in the hospital last week?"   
  
"Yes."   
  
"I want you to tell me the last thing that you remember before waking up in the hospital. Relax and concentrate. Where are you?"   
  
Buffy started to strain, to tense as the first traces of memory formed in her mind. "I'm in a lab. A government lab. The Initiative. You're with me, so's Willow, with Xander, Tara and Oz. A huge monster is attacking. I can see him, and I see something behind him."   
  
"Calm yourself, Buffy," Giles continued. "You are an observer, you are not a participant. What happened to the monster?"   
  
"The monster, Adam, he's trying to summon other monsters, to hurt my friends. But something's happening. A portal. A mouth. Hellmouth. He's opening the Hellmouth!" The building panic in Buffy's voice drew Willow to her side, as she instinctively held her lover. Buffy didn't notice her presence, as the memories flooded her. "Willow and Tara, they cast a spell to send Adam through the Hellmouth! I managed to push him through, but then Oz--NO!" she screamed suddenly. "KEEP AWAY FROM WILLOW!"   
  
"Easy, Buffy," Giles tried to take control of the experiment. "You are not there anymore. You are not in the lab. I am going to awaken you. I am--"   
  
"NOOO!" Buffy wailed. "Willow! What's happening? Where am I?"   
  
Giles wiped his brow, as Buffy's agitated state only got worse. "Giles," Willow shouted, "What's happening to her?"   
  
"What I feared would happen if we pushed her too hard," Giles despaired. "She's remembering everything. All of her battles, every demon and vampire she faced, all at once. And I can't calm her down enough to draw her out of her hypnotic state!"   
  
In her mind, Buffy was lost in the maze of her memories---   
  
* * *   
  
"'Cause, it's the weirdest thing. He's got two little, little holes in his neck, and all his blood's been drained. Isn't that bizarre? Aren't you just going, ooo?"   
  
* * *   
  
"You think I want anything to happen to you? Do you think I could stand it? We just gotta figure out a way...   
  
"I already did. I quit, remember? Pay attention!"   
  
"Buffy, if the Master rises..."   
  
"I don't care! I don't care. Giles, I'm sixteen years old. I don't wanna die."   
  
* * *   
  
"I'm not okay. I knew those guys. I go to that room every day. And when I walked in there, it... it wasn't our world anymore. They made it theirs. And they had fun. What are we gonna do?"   
  
* * *   
  
"How can you say this to me?"   
  
"Lighten up. It was a good time. It doesn't mean like we have to make a big deal."   
  
"It is a big deal!"   
  
"It's what? Bells ringing, fireworks, a dulcet choir of pretty little birdies? Come on, Buffy. It's not like I've never been there before."   
  
* * *   
  
"Oh, God, ANGEL!" Buffy cried.   
  
"She must be remembering Angelus," Giles intoned. Willow held her hand, desperately trying to console her, but she was inconsoluable.   
  
* * *   
  
"Angel could pull it off. Goodbye, Picadilly. Farewell, Leicester Bloody Square. You know what I'm saying?"  
  
* * *   
  
"Buffy Summers, if you leave this house now, don't even think about coming back!"   
  
* * *   
  
"In the end, you're always by yourself. You're all you've got. That's the point."   
  
* * *   
  
"Shh. Don't worry about it. I love you."   
  
"I love you."   
  
"Close your eyes."   
  
* * *   
  
"I'm so sorry, Angel, I'm so sorry," Buffy wept, recalling the pressure of the sword handle against her hands as she plunged the blade into her love's chest. Her breathing grew more ragged, in desperate gasps, and sweat was fountaining from her brow.   
  
"Giles," Denise said, "if we don't do something soon, she'll suffer a massive coronary!" Willow gasped as she looked at her suffering love.   
  
And still the memories bombarded her---   
  
* * *   
  
"It's a test, Buffy. It's given to the Slayer once she... uh, well, if she reaches her eighteenth birthday. The Slayer is disabled and then entrapped with a vampire foe whom she must defeat in order to pass the test. The vampire you were to face... has escaped. His name is Zackary Kralik. As a mortal, he murdered and tortured more than a dozen women before he was committed to an asylum for the criminally insane. When a vamp..."   
  
"You bastard. All this time, you saw what it was doing to me. All this time, and you didn't say a word!"   
  
* * *   
  
"Will, I'm sorry about today. You know how my foot likes to live in my mouth. But you know... y-you really didn't have to prove anything."   
  
"Leaving now."   
  
"Will, gotta say, not lovin' the new you."   
  
"Will, wait..."   
  
"Get off me!"   
  
* * *   
  
"Faith, you don't get it. You killed a man."   
  
"No, you don't get it. I. Don't. Care!"   
  
* * *   
  
"You -- you killed me, B!"   
  
* * *   
  
"You can't accept the fact that Tara and I are friends!"   
  
"More than friends, from what I heard!"   
  
"Bloody Hell!"  
  
* * *   
  
"Adam and I cut a deal, Wills. I betray Buffy, he'd give you to me as a gift. It seems that Adam lost, so Plan B. You're mine, Willow, and this dyke whore won't take you away from me!"   
  
* * *   
  
"Keep away from her, Oz!" Buffy shouted, her voice growing weaker, as her breathing grew more shallow. "Willow? Where are you? Willow!" She reached out in blind panic, desperately needing to find her love, her lifeline.   
  
Willow grabbed Buffy's hands in hers, and started to caress them. "It's okay, Buffy," she said in as clear a voice as she could manage. Shoving her own fears for Buffy's safety aside, she spoke to her. She placed a calming hand on Buffy's head, as she whispered in her ear. "I'm here, Buffy. I'm not going anywhere. You're just remembering what it is to be a Slayer."   
  
"But my being a Slayer just keeps getting you hurt!" Buffy cried.   
  
"The only thing that would hurt me is losing you, Buffy," Willow insisted. "You've done so much for me, don't you remember that? Remember me, Buffy. Remember us." She spoke in soothing tones, and Giles and Denise could see the effect she had on Buffy. Her breathing slowed and she started to breath more deeply, and she stopped thrashing about on the sofa. "That's right, Buffy," Willow continued. "Remember. Remember..."   
  
* * *   
  
"Hi! Willow, right?"   
  
"Why? I-I mean, hi! Uh, did you want me to move?"   
  
"Why don't we start with, 'Hi, I'm Buffy,' and, uh, then let's segue directly into me asking you for a favor. It doesn't involve moving, but it does involve hanging out with me for a while."   
  
* * *   
  
"Hey! I hear there's a dance at the Bronze tonight. Could be fun."   
  
"Yeah!"   
  
"Buffy?"   
  
"Sure! We saved the world. I say we party! I mean, I got all pretty."   
  
* * *   
  
"The dark can get pretty dark. Sometimes you need a story."   
  
* * *   
  
"Willow, wake up."   
  
"Uh -- don't warn the tadpoles--"   
  
* * *   
  
Buffy's breathing grew more and more steady, more calm. Willow's soothing voice, and the love that she expressed with each syllable, with the slightest touch of her fingers on Buffy's hand, was having the desired effect on the Slayer. Soon, Giles reasoned, it would be safe to bring Buffy fully out of her spell.   
  
* * *   
  
"It's okay. I understand you having to bail. I can forgive that. I have to make allowances for what you're going through a-and be a grown-up about it."   
  
"You're really enjoying this whole moral superiority thing, aren't you?"   
  
"It's like a drug!"   
  
* * *   
  
"Willow! You're alive!"   
  
"Aren't I usually? Uh, I love you guys too. Uh, guys, oxygen, becoming an issue!"   
  
* * *   
  
"The other night, you know, being captured and all, facing off with Faith. Things just, kind of, got clear. I mean, you've been fighting evil here for three years, and I've helped some, and now we're supposed to decide what we want to do with our lives. And I just realized that that's what I want to do. Fight evil, help people. I mean, I-I think it's worth doing. And I don't think you do it because you have to. It's a good fight, Buffy, and I want in."   
  
"I kinda love you."   
  
* * *   
  
"I love you, Buffy Summers. More than anything or anyone else in this world. Always have. Always will."   
  
"Damn. I wanted to be the first to say it."   
  
* * *   
  
"Buffy," Giles said softly, "I am going to count backwards from five to one. When I reach one, you will be fully awake and alert. You will remember what happened, but from a distance. Five. Four. Three. Two. One. Awaken."   
  
Buffy's eyes fluttered, and snapped open. She looked at Willow's face and smiled. "So, any calls while I was gone?"   
  
Willow hugged Buffy fiercely, while Giles and Denise breathed a collective sigh of relief. "oh, Goddess, Buffy," Willow whispered, "I was so scared of losing you."   
  
"Not a chance, Wills," Buffy vowed. "You still have the ring on your finger." Willow grinned at her love, and kissed her lightly on the lips.   
  
"Buffy," Giles coughed, smiling at their obvious passion for each other. "If you could tear yourself away from your intended for a few seconds, I feel that I should ask. How much do you remember now?"   
  
"Remember, Giles?" Buffy thought for a second, then said, "I remember that you can sing any Emily Dickinson poem to 'The Yellow Rose of Texas', I remember every sensitive spot on Willow's body--"   
  
Willow slapped her lightly on the arm, adding, "That goes both ways, Slayer!"   
  
"And," Buffy continued, "I remember the face of every nasty I've staked in my career as a Slayer. I also remember how much I hate training, but I'm sure you'll have a schedule set up soon."   
  
"I think we can ease into a training schedule. We'll start lightly, when you're ready," Giles smiled, relief flooding his soul. Buffy, his surrogate daughter, this petite young woman who was the strongest person he had ever known, was back.   
  
"There's just one hole in my memory though," Buffy confessed. Willow and the others sat quietly as Buffy explained. "Just after Oz threw me into the portal, I felt a falling sensation. I found myself thinking of 'Alice in Wonderland' for a second there. Then, the next thing I knew, I was in the hospital, and you were waiting at the door, Wills. Somewhere in all that, I lost a year. I don't know what happened to me in Hell. I mean, Angel told me that his few months in Hell were like eons to him, but it felt like a few seconds to me. Does that make any sense?"   
  
"I understand what you're saying, Buffy," Willow answered, "but I wouldn't worry. We found you in a giant crystal, frozen still. I think you were in some kind of suspended animation, or some such."   
  
"I doubt that you have had any memories in Hell, Buffy," Denise added, "and from what I heard, that may be for the best." Giles agreed, and Willow just held her beloved tighter.   
  
"Welcome back, Buffy," she whispered into her ear.   
  
"Glad to be back, Wills," the newly-restored Slayer said. "Love you." As the two friends kissed lightly, the ringing of a telephone distracted them.   
  
Giles answered the telephone discreetly. "Giles residence," he greeted the caller.   
  
"Giles, it's Angel. You wanted an update on the Hell's Belles. I just saw them terrorizing some people just two blocks away from the Bronze."   
  
"Any sign of Sandra?" Giles asked. Buffy's ears perked as she recognized the tone of his voice. Looks like her honeymoon with Willow was over.   
  
"Sandra and Tara are trying to control the situation, but once Darla shows, they're going to be seriously out-classed."   
  
"I understand," Giles said. "Keep me informed." Giles hung up, then looked at Buffy and Willow.   
  
Buffy already had her game face in place, and Willow was beside her, with her resolve face on. "Vamps at the Bronze?" Buffy asked.   
  
"Three vampires on motorcycles. Soon to be joined by their Mistress, Darla." At the mention of the name Darla, Buffy's eyes widened.   
  
"I thought she was a confirmed check in the 'slain' column," she muttered. "No matter, Giles, let's head 'em out!"   
  
"Hold on, Buffy," Giles protested, "it's too soon after all you've been through. There's another Slayer on the scene, she can handle it."   
  
"Hey, the more the merrier, right Wills?" she turned toward her love, who nodded in agreement. "Just let me stock up. You still keep the spare stakes in the basement, Giles?"   
  
Giles raised his hands in surrender. "Downstairs to the left, as always." Buffy and Willow headed down the stairs to collect their weapons.   
  
"I had hoped to let them ease into their routine," Giles said to Denise. "It's too soon."   
  
"Tell that to Hell's Belles," Denise chuckled. "I doubt they would agree."   
  
Soon, four figures emerged from the townhouse and piled into Giles' car. The battle was about to be rejoined by its greatest warrior.   
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
  
"Duck and cover!" Sandra shouted as a Harley came barreling down on top of them. Sandra and Tara ducked in opposite directions, narrowly evading the bike. Leather, the vampire who was trying to run them over, circled around, ready for another pass at the two. Her partners in blood-sucking, Rizzo and Frenchie, knocked back a bottle of Jack Daniel's and laughed at the two girlfriends' hopeless situation.   
  
Sandra got back on her feet, shouting, "Tara! You okay?"   
  
"A little bruised, but fine," Tara assured her girlfriend. "But she's coming back, and we can't dodge her forever!"   
  
"We won't have to," Sandra stood calmly, her feet parted, her arms loose at her sides, a stake in her hand. "Ever see the chariot race in 'Ben Hur'?"   
  
Tara stood frightened as Leather charged her two-wheeled steed toward Sandra. Sandra stood her ground, waiting, waiting--   
  
At the last possible second, just when the bike was inches away from her, Sandra ducked and feinted left. With blinding speed, just as the bike was moving past her, Sandra rammed the stake into the spokes of the rear wheel.   
  
With the wheel jammed by the stake, the bike suddenly flipped out from under Leather, knocking her hard on her back. The impact would have knocked the wind out of her, if vampires ever felt the need to breathe. She struggled to right herself, as her bike landed on its side yards away from her. Frenchie and Rizzo ran to help their comrade, and once she was standing, Leather was angry.   
  
"That's it, Bitch!" Leather spat out the words. "You and your girlfriend are going down, and going down now!"   
  
"Yeah, they're going down," a voice called from behind them. "They're going down to the Espresso Pump with us after we dust the three of you!" The Hell's Belles turned on their heels, only to come face to face with five figures.   
  
A sandy-haired gentleman in his early-forties and a statuesque black woman in her thirties both held crossbows at the ready. A lanky young man in a duster jacket crouched, ready to strike quickly. A petite red-haired woman stood beside him, a stake in her hand.   
  
And an unassuming blond woman walked toward the three vampires, a crossbow pointed at Leather's heart.   
  
"In every generation," the blond announced calmly, "there is the Chosen One. She, and those who choose to follow her," she glanced at Giles, who seemed to approve of her rewording his original declaration of her calling, "will fight the vampires, the demons, and the forces of darkness." She smiled as the vampires took a step back, recognizing her for who she was, and being afraid of her.   
  
"She is -- I am -- The Slayer!"   
  



	5. Face The Face

  
Disclaimers;   
I own Mr. Beltaine, Sandra Ogawa, Denise Parkinson and the Hell's Belles, all others are owned by the mighty Joss Whedon. I'm just playing in his dark sandbox.   
  
Rating; PG-13 to R   
Author's note;   
This is the continuation of my series, "Somewhere I Have Never Traveled", my own personal epic. I'm looking at a trilogy, and now that I have a threat worthy of the mighty Slayer, I'm looking forward to springing it on you. Summary;   
Buffy and Willow are reunited after the Slayer's return from Hell. But what are these strange dreams that Buffy is having? Who is the mysterious Mr. Beltaine? Where do Spike and Darla figure? And what happened to Faith? Spoiler; Fourth Season up to "Hush" and "I Will Remember You"; Angel the Series ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Somewhere I Have Never Travelled Book Two; The Sang Real Written by Kirayoshi ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
Chapter Five  
Face the Face  
  
You must have heard the cautionary tale  
Of the dangers hidden on the cul-de-sac trail.  
We are the ones who've been through it all,  
The painted names sprayed upon the wall.  
  
We gotta judge the judge,  
We gotta find the finds,  
We gotta scheme the schemes,  
We gotta line the lines.  
We gotta stake the stakes,  
We gotta show the shows,  
We gotta take the takes,  
We gotta know the knows.  
  
Try to race the race, so  
We can face the face!  
  
--Pete Townshend  
"Face The Face"  
  
One minute ago, Xander Harris was walking his midnight beat at Whetherly Park, keeping alert for anything out of the ordinary. He found it soon enough, as three biker chicks started to harass two young women. On closer examination, he recognized the two women as Tara and Sandra. He figured that the biker chicks were the vampires that Sandra called "Hell's Belles".   
  
He immediately pulled out his service piece, and replaced the ammo clip with one of his 'special' clips. While the unusual clips were not officially recognized on any police budget, there were enough cops on the Sunnydale Force that knew more about what was going on in this town to make sure that certain under-the-table precautions were made, and the higher-ups generally looked the other way.  
  
"Officer Harris, calling anyone within the vicinity," Xander spoke into his radio as he ducked behind a bush. "Reporting a situation in Whetherly Park. Three bikers attacking two women, over."  
  
"Harris, this is Axelrod on Nightshift," the voice answered, and Xander breathed a sigh of relief. "Nightshift" was the unofficial Sunnydale PD anti-vampire squad. "Identify assailants; any signs of unlife? Over."   
  
"Affirmative," Xander answered. "Perps match description of known night life. Requesting backup, repeat, requesting--"  
  
"In every generation," a familiar, commanding voice cut through the night with the authority of a judge's gavel, "there is the Chosen One." Xander stopped and looked toward the voice. Buffy Summers, backed up by Willow, Giles, Angel and Denise Parkinson, stood before the three vamps, who suddenly were less cocky than they were before. "She, and those who choose to follow her, will stand against the vampires, the demons and the forces of darkness. She is -- I am -- the Slayer!"   
  
"Ooh, just what I wanna hear from a girl," Xander whispered gleefully.   
  
"Harris, repeat your last statement," the voice on the radio reclaimed his attention. "Do you require assistance? Over."  
  
"Uh, cancel request for assistance, Axelrod," Harris answered, fumbling for his radio. "The situation appears to be contained. Will report back if situation changes. Harris out." Turning off his radio, Xander turned his attention to the show in front of him.   
  
On his face, he wore the smile of one who knew that all was right with the world. His hero was back.  
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
  
So many out-of-town demons knew about Sunnydale California. They knew mostly to avoid it. While the Hellmouth acted like a magnet for supernatural forces, drawing demons and vampires toward it like moths to a flame, the wiser demons knew to resist that temptation.   
  
She lived here. The Slayer.  
  
Rizzo brought her gang to Sunnydale because she had heard rumors that the Slayer had been killed. But now she knew that those rumors were false. The Slayer and some of her friends stood in front of her, ready for the kill. Rizzo knew of the Slayer's rep, and that it was well deserved. And in the coal-black depths of her heart, she knew fear.  
  
However, she refused to be conquered by her fear. "Frenchie, take the carrot-top!" Frenchie dove toward Willow, her fingers as claws, ready to shred flesh from bone.  
  
Buffy considered moving to defend Willow, but one glance toward her love's direction proved to her that her concern was unnecessary. Willow ducked easily, avoiding Frenchie's clumsy attack, and even managed to score Frenchie's leg as she passed with the tip of her stake. Frenchie landed gracelessly in the bushes behind her, balled up in pain, howling in agony. Wooden weapons, even if they don't pierce the heart, are the bane of vampire's existence. Especially if they had been treated with holy water.  
  
"Okay, wannabees," Buffy snarled as she prepared for battle. "Who wants a piece of me?"   
  
Leather tensed up as her lover writhed in pain, and would have made an attempt at Willow's life, if Rizzo hadn't stopped her. Rizzo pointed her finger at Buffy, shouting, "Let's settle this now! You, me, mano a mano. You game?"  
  
"Hey," Buffy said in mock innocence, "I'm so game I'm copyrighted by Milton Bradley!" She stood before Rizzo, making beckoning motions with her hands. "C'mon, Pink Lady. Take your best shot!"   
  
Rizzo nodded to Leather, who backed off to tend to Frenchie's wounds. Rizzo then sneered at Buffy and whipped out a switchblade, saying, "C'mon, let's see if you can walk the walk."  
  
"Oh, I can walk the walk," Buffy answered as Rizzo lunged at her. "I can also fight the fight." She evaded Rizzo's initial blow, and came around with her fist on the biker's face, dislodging her left fang. Willow, the other Scoobs, the biker vamps, all looked on silently, not daring to interfere in this fight. The two fighters circled each other, switchblade to stake, taking stock in each other. Then, they met in the center of their circle  
  
Buffy feinted and parried with her opponent, who proved to be a skilled street fighter. Rizzo took her shots quickly, striking like a cobra, giving Buffy milliseconds to react to her attacks. Buffy paced herself, calming the anger that normally boiled in her gut when she fought vampires, keeping steely control over her motions. Her hazel-blue eyes smoldered, and as she battled the vampire, she stared intently at Rizzo, in an intimidating gesture that Angel had taught her in her first year in Sunnydale; 'the eye of the wolf' he called it. Above all else, she let Rizzo move around her, let her expend energy, let her make herself madder, while she herself conserved her energy.  
  
Rizzo drew first blood, with a swift knife strike to Buffy's cheek. Buffy ignored the sudden pain, concentrating on finding her opponent's weakness. She seemed to favor her left leg. Buffy had read that left-footed meant left handed. She tested her theory; she jabbed quickly with her stake at Rizzo's left side, then again at her right side. Rizzo blocked the first blow with her left hand easily enough. But the second strike, Buffy was able to connect briefly with Rizzo's ribcage before Rizzo brushed her aside. Buffy smiled. Her weakness.   
  
Buffy started to work on Rizzo's right side, repeatedly jabbing and slicing with her hands, working on her weaker right arm. Rizzo tried to turn to her right, to allow her left side dominance. But Buffy kept leaping around her, working on that right side.  
  
Leather watched the fight with angry eyes. She knew that Rizzo would be enraged if she tried to interfere; for Rizzo it was a matter of pride that she fought the Slayer herself. But Leather saw that her leader, her Sire, was on the ropes. She had to do something. She watched the crowd as they witnessed this grudge match. Her eyes scanned their faces, especially the new allies that Buffy had brought with her.   
  
Her vision rested on one girl. The redhead who injured Frenchie. She looked at the fighters, at Buffy, with a rapt attention. There was something in her eyes, something smoldering, something passionate.  
  
The same passion she saw in Frenchie's eyes when they made love. The redhead loved Buffy.  
  
With blinding swiftness, Leather slipped behind Willow, and grabbed her by the throat. "Drop the stake, Blondie!" she screamed, silencing the combat. "Or we'll see if your girlfriend's blood is the same color as her hair!"   
  
Buffy stood stock still, as she looked into her endangered love's eyes. "Don't do it, Buffy," Willow whispered hoarsely, countering her fear with her love for the Slayer.   
  
Buffy let the stake fall from her hand. "So help me, psycho-slut," she spat at the vampire, "if you even look at her funny, I'll turn you inside out!"  
  
"You idiot!" Rizzo screamed. "I almost had her! I could have taken her!"   
  
"Yeah, in your dreams, Rizzo!" Leather argued. "Darla said she wanted these mooks wasted, and she wanted us alive! We're on the clock, we have no time to play with our food!"  
  
Rizzo was about to retort, when another voice made itself known. "Police! Spread 'em! Hands where I can see them!" All heads turned to the sight of Officer Alexander LaVelle Harris, his gun aimed directly at Leather. "Move away from her, nice and slow, sister. We don't want any trouble here."   
  
Leather laughed mirthlessly at the cop. "You really don't have any idea whom you're dealing with, do you?" "Actually," Officer Harris said calmly, "I do. So don't try anything!"  
  
"You mean like this?" Leather cackled as her face contorted to it's vampiric nature, and she dove for Willow's neck, intent on her jugular. Xander fired his weapon directly into Leather's shoulder.  
  
Searing white pain ripped through her arm, forcing her to let go of Willow. The wiccan ran directly to Buffy who received her in a relieved bear hug. Rizzo and Frenchie, not to mention the others, looked shocked at the officer, who stood there with his gun in hand.   
  
"Explosive tipped bullets," Xander explained. "Hollow, filled with holy water. Not enough to kill, but I'll bet it hurts like hell. Of course, I aim for the heart, you're dust. Feel lucky?" He drew a bead directly at Rizzo's heart.  
  
Rizzo backed toward Leather and Frenchie, fear growing in her dark eyes. She helped her partners back onto their feet, and snarled at Buffy. "This ain't over, bitch!" The three vampires left swiftly before Buffy and Xander could follow them.  
  
Buffy turned her head to look at the trembling redhead in her arms. "You okay, Wills?" she asked, stroking a sweat-matted strand of hair from her love's forehead.  
  
"Man, I hate it when they do that," she murmured against Buffy's chest. "Do I have a sign on my forehead saying 'Please hold me hostage'?"   
  
"No," Buffy smiled at her fiancee. "Just the one that says 'My heart is property of Buffy Summers'." Willow grinned impishly, as Buffy kissed her nose.  
  
The two then turned to Xander, and Buffy said, "Hey, hero. Mighty nice shootin' there."  
  
"Shucks, ma'am," Xander answered in the worst John Wayne accent on record, "'Tweren't nothin'."   
  
"I must say," Giles commented, "I was surprised that the Sunnydale police department had such weaponry." "Not officially, Giles," Xander answered. "But ever since Buffy took down Hizzoner Mayor Wilkins, the S.P.D. have been a lot less clueless than they were before. We took some old notes from the Initiative once they folded, and designed a few new additions, like the holy water bullets. Someone's working on a flash grenade that will duplicate the effects of bright sunlight for five seconds, just long enough to dust every vamp in a ten yard radius."  
  
"Hmm, impressive."   
  
The dark voice behind them caused the hairs on Buffy's arms to stand on end, and she could sense that she wasn't the only one to feel that way. She picked up her stake, and spun around.  
  
The man who faced her was gaunt, his body half-shaded by the nearby trees as he strode toward them. Every aspect about him said 'tasteful', from the tailored cut of his shoes to the part of his hair. But the fire in his eyes, the gait of his stride, the scowl of his lips, they said something else to Buffy Summers. Hunter. Predator.   
  
Vampire. Probably a master vampire. In the back of her mind, she recalled an old lyric by the Rolling Stones; "Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste..."  
  
Xander's eyes widened with the twin shock of the stranger's arrival, and recognition. "Mr. Beltaine?" "You remember me, Officer Harris," he said in a clipped and formal voice. Giles thought he could detect the faintest Eastern European accent. "I am glad of that. And I am especially glad to see you, Miss Summers," he added, turning his attention to Buffy.  
  
Buffy fished the crucifix out of her pocket, and held it in front of her. Beltaine backed slowly away from the cross, and asked Xander, "Did you tell your friends that I was not their enemy?" "I told Giles, but you still have to convince me." Xander said simply.  
  
Beltaine nodded. "Fair enough." He then glanced at Angel, who sat silently as the elder vampire walked toward him. "But you, my old friend," he said to Angel, "You and I, we know each other very well, don't we?"  
  
Angel blinked as Beltaine looked him over. His eyes widened with recognition as well, and he almost staggered back away from the master vampire. "You--" he said, shaking as though he were facing the Devil himself, "it was you. You placed the curse on me, bonded me to my soul."  
  
"Indeed I did, Liam," Beltaine answered. "And I can see into your soul now. You recently defeated the demon within you, once and for all. Your soul is yours now. I bow to you, my friend." He lowered his upper body in a reverent bow.  
  
"What's with the bowing?" Buffy whispered, still keeping her stake at the ready.  
  
"Maybe Angel just won Ben Stein's money," Willow offered. Beltaine glanced back at Willow when he heard these words. He then regarded Willow with an almost fatherly affection on his face. "So you must be Willow Rosenberg. Ah, Janna mentioned you in her letters to me. She thought the world of you. Now I can see why." Giles glared hard at the vampire as he spoke this name from his past. "Janna? Janna Kalderash?" he asked, steel in his voice. "You knew Jenny Calendar?"  
  
Beltaine nodded sadly. "I did, Giles. She was my daughter-in-spirit, as dear to me as if she had sprung from my own flesh. And you were very dear to her as well. Someday, we must drink to her memory."  
  
"Why would we drink with you, Beltaine?" Buffy asked suddenly. "You're a vampire, after all."   
  
"I am, my child," he answered, "but like your friend Angel, my soul is bonded to me. The powers of my tribe are formidable indeed. As you probably have guessed by now, I am of the Romani gypsies, the same tribe that punished a demon named Angelus. I am in fact their leader."  
  
"Yeah, and now he's ours as well," an all-too familiar British accented voice chimed in. Spike stepped out from the shadows, followed by Faith, and the two vampires joined their master in the dim lamplight. "Oh, and just so you know, that chip the Initiative gave me, I got it removed." He bared his fangs to punctuate his point. "So don't you get any ideas."  
  
"Hey, B," Faith added, giving a fang-laced smile. "How's it hangin'?"  
  
  



	6. A Beltaine Night's Tale

  
Disclaimers;   
I own Mr. Beltaine, Sandra Ogawa, Denise Parkinson and the Hell's Belles, all others are owned by the mighty Joss Whedon. I'm just playing in his dark sandbox.   
  
Rating; PG-13 to R   
Author's note;   
This is the continuation of my series, "Somewhere I Have Never Traveled", my own personal epic. I'm looking at a trilogy, and now that I have a threat worthy of the mighty Slayer, I'm looking forward to springing it on you.   
  
Summary;   
Buffy and Willow are reunited after the Slayer's return from Hell. But what are these strange dreams that Buffy is having? Who is the mysterious Mr. Beltaine? Where do Spike and Darla figure? And what happened to Faith?   
  
Spoiler; Fourth Season up to "Hush" and "I Will Remember You"; Angel the Series   
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
  
Somewhere I Have Never Travelled  
Book Two; The Sang Real   
Written by Kirayoshi   
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
  
Chapter Six  
A Beltaine Night's Tale  
  
There's no time for us   
There's no place for us   
What is this thing that builds our dreams yet slips away from us   
  
Who wants to live forever   
Who wants to live forever?   
  
There's no chance for us   
It's all decided for us   
This world has only one sweet moment set aside for us   
  
Who wants to live forever   
Who wants to live forever?   
Who dares to love forever?   
--Queen  
"Who Wants To Live Forever?"  
  
  
Buffy stared directly at the three vampires, daring them to make the first move, her hand gripped tightly around Mr. Pointy. She sized up her opposites, and didn't like the odds.  
  
The one on the left, she knew all too well. Spike, AKA William Blood, AKA William the Bloody, AKA Jack the Ripper. Cocky, violent, bad tempered, interested only in self-preservation. He was tamed last year by the Initiative when they installed a chip in his head that prevented him from harming others. Now, he has informed her that the chip was removed.   
  
The one on the right, she also knew. Faith. A slayer like herself. But so different. Darker, more concerned with herself than with her calling. So many long nights, she wondered if any single change in herself would have made her like Faith. All she knew in the end was that Faith was dangerous. And that was as a human. Now, she was a vampire.   
  
The one in the middle, Buffy didn't have a clue. He called himself Mr. Beltaine, he seemed to know a great deal about herself and her friends. He claimed to be the leader of the Kalderash tribe, the home of her late friend Jenny Calendar, and Angel recognized him as the one who bound his soul to him. He also had claimed that he possessed his soul.  
  
For many long moments, Buffy regarded the three vampires with an expressionless face, which in many ways was her most intimidating expression. Willow stepped up next to Buffy, her resolve face firmly in place. Giles, Xander, Tara, Sandra and Denise stood at the ready as well, prepared to follow Buffy's lead.   
  
Finally, the leader of the vampires broke the stalemate. "I know that there is nothing I can say that you will trust, but I assure you that the three of us mean you no harm. And what I have to say to you is of vital importance to you all. Indeed, your very existence depends on it. But perhaps we can remove ourselves to a safer shelter. My residence is a few blocks away from here. Will you join us?"  
  
Buffy glanced back at Giles, who regarded the three before them with the same caution that she demonstrated. "Confab, people. Any ideas on mystery guest Number One?"  
  
"None, Buffy," Giles admitted.   
  
"Cordy and I ran into him the other night," Xander offered. "He didn't do anything to us, he just asked us to tell Giles that he needed to talk."  
Buffy looked back at Beltaine. "Is that why you're here, buddy? To talk?"   
Beltaine nodded.  
  
"What about your chorus line? Any reasons I shouldn't stake them now?"  
  
"Only your deep-seated aversion to killing anything with a soul," Spike answered, and Buffy for the first time noted that his normal venomous attitude was missing. "Yeah, that's right Ducks, Beltaine came up to me a couple of months ago and offered to have the chip removed. Just like that. Of course, he forgot to tell me after he removed the chip that he provided a far more insidious substitute. My soul."  
  
"Same here, B," Faith answered. "Mr. B here had my body taken out of the prison morgue just after those vamps took me out, then bound my soul to me. Nowadays, I go to sleep with memories of the mistakes I made, the people I hurt or killed. I'll be atoning for my crimes for a long time."  
  
"Yeah, well boo-effing-hoo!" Willow shouted at the dark Slayer. Buffy felt her jaw tense as she heard the one she loved speak with such hatred. She glared at Faith herself, hating her all the more for causing such pain to Willow. "After what you did to Buffy and me the last time we met, don't be expecting any favors from us!"  
  
"I told you, Mr. B," Faith said sadly to her leader, "they're not gonna wanna listen to us! They'll never forgive me."  
  
"We are not here to seek forgiveness, Faith," Beltaine admonished her gently, "rather, to earn it." To Buffy, he said, "I ask again. Will you and your party join us?"  
  
Buffy looked at Willow, again relying on her for support, for advice, for a moral compass. Willow's eyes narrowed, and she spoke with a dark tone; "If you go, you don't go alone."  
  
Buffy asked Beltaine, "My posse goes with me. Agreed?"   
Beltaine smiled warmly. "What I have to say is for all of you." Buffy nodded, and murmurs of agreement were heard from those behind her.  
  
"Hey, Bossman," Spike commented, "we forgot something. Look," he pointed to the three Harley Davidson motorcycles that were left behind when Hell's Belles scattered. "We can't leave three Harley hawgs lying around. You want someone to start asking questions?"  
  
Beltaine noticed the three bikes. "Good point, William. I'll make arrangements for my people to pick them up. We'll have to check the serial numbers, assuming they weren't filed off, to make sure they weren't stolen. If we can't find their rightful owners," he smiled at Buffy, "well, we have three slayers, maybe they could use them."  
"No one claim the blue one, no one claim the blue one, no one claim the blue one," Faith chanted to herself. Buffy and Sandra admired the bikes briefly, then Buffy said to Mr. Beltaine, "Let's just stick to the subject for now before you start playing Vampy Claus."  
  
"Fair enough," Beltaine agreed.  
  
The party left in silence, and soon arrived at an attractive townhouse a few blocks north of the park. Willow admired the ornate brass-inlayed oak doors, and the size of the bay window that overlooked the front lawn. Much larger than the place she and Buffy shared. Beltaine opened the door, and ushered the others inside. All filed in silently, except for Angel, who stood outside the door impatiently. Beltaine looked at Angel, and suddenly remembered. "My apologies, Liam," he chuckled. "Enter freely, and of your own free will."  
  
As Angel entered the house, Willow glanced around the living room, looking uncomfortably at the surroundings. She was about to sit down, when an all-too familiar voice greeted her; "Hey, Willow. Long time."  
  
Willow spun on her heel, at the person who greeted her. A thin, lanky young man with sandy brown hair walked down the stairs, his familiar unassuming air still apparent. Willow growled with rage and fear, as she recognized him. "OZ!" she shrieked. "But you're dead! I killed you!" Buffy promptly rushed to Willow's side and held her in her arms as Willow trembled at the sight of her once-lover and later betrayer.   
Daniel Osbourne stood silently, checking the pulse of his left wrist with his right hand, and said, "Uh, I beg to differ. I was told about what happened--" "SHUT UP!" Willow commanded. "Just don't speak to me, ever! I don't know how you got out of Hell, but one more word out of you, I'll send you back!"  
  
Oz looked sadly at Willow and Buffy, who both looked at him in undisguised contempt, and sighed. "I guess we know what my evil twin's been up to, Mr. Beltaine."  
  
"Indeed," Beltaine said sadly. "My apologies, ladies, I should have warned you. I--" "WARNED US?" Buffy shouted. "Warned us that the man who tried to killed me is your houseguest? Yeah, you bloody well should have told us!"   
"This is not the Daniel Osbourne who sent you into hell," Beltaine raised his voice to be heard above Buffy's tirade. "Please, Slayer, bear with me for the duration. I have much to explain to you, and I will gladly answer any questions you may have when I have finished."   
  
"Please, mates," Spike requested. "The man's telling it straight. Listen to him."  
  
"Oh, yeah, like you're a fine character witness," Angel spat out.  
  
"Back off, Peaches," Spike growled at his former partner in mayhem. "Just because I've got a soul doesn't mean that I like you any better, Angst-boy!"  
  
"Oh, shut up, Jack!" Buffy shouted at the blond vampire. "Yeah, that's right, we know." To the others, she announced, "Did you guys know that he was Jack the Ripper?"  
  
Before Spike could respond to Buffy's accusations, Beltaine held up his hands. "Please, please, we have plenty of enemies without fighting among each other. Sit down, let me speak my peace."  
  
Buffy and Willow glowered at Oz, who just sat on the stairs, away from the group. He recognized that he wouldn't be welcome among his old friends for the time being, and hoped simply that once Mr. Beltaine told his story, they would accept him again. He watched as Buffy sat next to Willow on the sofa and draped her arm protectively around Willow's shoulders. He caught a glint on Willow's finger, and when he got a better look, he saw the engagement ring on her finger. One look at the way she leaned into Buffy's embrace and Oz knew that Buffy and Willow had indeed found each other. He was glad of that. He was glad that Willow had found happiness with someone who could love and protect her. He silently wished them good fortune.  
  
"Now then," Beltaine said civilly as Faith emerged from the kitchen carrying a tea tray, and offering tea, coffee or cocoa to the guests, "Perhaps I had better explain who I am, and why I am here. I was born Janus Pyotr Kalderash, in the Year of our Lord 1077. I was the heir to the dominion of the Romani clan, and had been trained in the skills I would need to fulfill the demands of leadership. Warrior skills, as well as healing magic. Our people were well versed in the ways of magic, and possessed many artifacts, a few of which we still hold fast to. Giles, if you would open the wooden case on the table in front of you?"  
  
Giles looked warily at Mr. Beltaine, who nodded solemnly. Guessing it was safe, Giles examined the small, ornately carved, red lacquered wooden chest that sat in front of him. He loosened the catch, lifted the lid, and sat back as he beheld its contents, his eyes big as baseballs. On the sofa next to his chair, he could hear Willow gasp. "My dear lord," he whispered. "Is that--"  
  
"The Greater Orb of Thessula," Beltaine acknowledged. "I understand that you, Willow Rosenberg, used a smaller Orb to re-bond Angel's soul."  
  
"Yeah, me and the others," Willow answered sheepishly, recalling the harrowing experience. She had never before taken on such a monumental task in magic, and was both relieved that it worked, and saddened that it was too late to save Angel once Acaltha had been awakened.  
  
"This is the source of that magic," Beltaine stated. "The source of my own soul. I had ascended to the role of chieftain of my tribe when I was twenty, and had for ten years led my tribe, protecting it from the slowly encroaching conquerors and crusaders. It was then when an ancient vampire had chosen to Turn me. I was Born to Darkness...I believe that's how Anne Rice described it, I rather liked that turn of phrase...in the year 1109. My very first thought as a vampire was to destroy my wife, Magda, and our children. But Magda was well versed in the ways of magic, and had cast a spell to restrain me. She then led the elder mages of the tribe to invoke the Orb, to use its powers to restore my humanity. They hadn't quite succeeded, but she had managed to bind my soul to me. The price was great, however; my Magda had died to invoke the spell, sacrificing herself to save me, to save our people from me.  
  
"I felt great guilt over my condition, and how it had cost my Magda her life, but in time, I saw the rightness of her actions. The vampire who had taken me from the daylight sought to use me to destroy my tribe. Some unspoken insult, some redress of grievances. By some strange irony, that vampire had insured my tribe's survival, by granting me the means and the power to defend it, literally forever. I made sure to thank my unwilling benefactor before I slew him.  
  
"For the next few centuries, I protected my tribe from all threats; barbarian conquerors, crusaders, those who simply sought to destroy us because we existed. Through the centuries, I watched as my two daughters had children of their own, and their children had children, and they had children of their own, from generation to generation. Janna Kalderash, whom you know as Jenny Calendar, she was a direct descendant of mine. I don't recall how many generations removed." Beltaine regarded Angel with a gimlet eye, causing the younger vampire to squirm in his seat. "As was the child who's life was taken by a vampire named Angelus."  
  
Angel bowed his head low, saying, "I know, Janus Kalderash, and I regret my crimes." Beltaine smiled at Angel. "Do not blame yourself for your demon's actions, Liam. You have been punished long enough." To the others, he explained; "You see, I used the Greater Orb of Thessula to restore Angel's soul, with the clause that should he not be tormented by the crimes of his past before he succeeded in atoning for them, his soul would be lost and the demon would retain control. It was meant as a punishment, true. But not an eternal punishment."  
  
"So you're saying that Angel has the potential for his own salvation?" Giles asked.  
  
"I am. As he traveled the world after our encounter, I sent my spies after him to monitor his progress. The last spy I sent was Janna. She reported back with the news that Angel was no longer living a furtive and solitary life, doing nothing but reflecting on his own self-pity. Instead he chose to join with others, with one called the Slayer, to aid her in her battle with evil." Leaning forward, Beltaine captured Buffy's eye with his own. "You, my friend, were the catalyst of his salvation. Through you, because of his love for you, Angel stopped brooding and began to act, to atone for his past by undoing evil instead of spreading it. In retrospect I should have kept Janna better informed, or allowed her greater leeway in revealing her mission to you. Perhaps the knowledge of what would have happened if he ever experienced a moment of pure happiness before his time would have saved her life."  
  
Buffy nodded silently, feeling that familiar grief and guilt build up in her soul. Willow must have sensed her beloved's unease, because she started to caress her shoulders gently with her hand. "Don't go there," she whispered to Buffy. "It isn't your fault. What happened isn't anyone's fault. It just happened."  
"Your love speaks truth," Beltaine assured Buffy. "I have lived no small years, and have seldom known of greater love or greater sacrifice than that which you experienced. I have known many Slayers over the years. I have been a silent partner to the Watcher's Council for over five centuries, until recent years when their desire for control outstripped their duty to the cause. And in all that time, I have never known a more capable fighter than you, Buffy Anne Summers."   
  
These words of praise, from someone who should be an enemy, somehow caused Buffy to feel a great weight lift off of her shoulder. The knowledge that this man, the oldest relative of Jenny Calendar, did not blame Buffy for her death, caused Buffy to feel a lightness in her soul that she seldom experienced, outside of Willow's arms.  
  
"I'm still at a loss to understand this," Denise spoke up. "I had always understood that once a person was turned into a vampire, the soul fled the body, allowing the demon to take over."  
  
"It is not so simple, my lady," Beltaine said, nodding to the younger Watcher. "The soul remains dormant within the body, where it remains a prisoner, but if the soul is strong enough, it may be allowed to retain control, albeit only with some magical assistance. I have made an extensive study of vampires, and I learned a few things that your Watcher's Council had not discovered. I learned that it is not the act of Turning that shocks a soul into dormancy, but the first kill. The Demon that enters the body of a newly-sired vampire will lose its power quickly unless the soul can be quickly corrupted. That is why, Liam, that the moment you were turned your first act was to kill your parents. The demon drives its host to murder, thus forcing the soul to recoil from what it has become. The demon then has free reign, to kill and devour as it pleases."  
  
"But the soul may be restored," Angel continued the thought, "by a powerful spell, like the Orb of Thessula?"  
  
"You got it," Spike answered. "Of course, if you've been a naughty vamp, the process of getting your soul back takes a long time, and hurts like Hell, literally. Y'see, mate, I'm about where you were before. My soul's a loaner, and if I get the happies once, it's gone. I've done some terrible things in my unlife; like Buffy said, I operated in the Whitechapel area during 1888, and the dumb coppers never found half of the women I killed. All their faces, and all the others I killed, they visit me every night now. But I got hope now. It's a matter of atonement. I hate to say it, Ducks, but you were on to the right idea all along."  
  
"Yeah, what peroxide-boy said," Faith added. "I mean, I wasn't a prize when I was alive, who knows what kinda psycho vamp I'd have been if Mr. B hadn't claimed my corpse from stir. I owe him for the second chance, and I owe the rest of you for all the crap I put you through." She bowed her head, and Buffy searched Faith's manner and her voice for any sign of pretense, of guile. She found none. Faith was laying her soul bare before them, not caring what they thought of her. "I don't expect any forgiveness, and I wouldn't accept it if offered. Not yet, anyway. I'm as far from five-by-five with you guys as you can get. All I ask is the chance to prove myself. The old Faith is dead. Let her rot. 'Cause no matter how much you guys hated her, I will always hate her more."  
  
Buffy and the others sat in silence, digesting Faith's words. Buffy looked into Willow's eyes, again relying on the red-haired wiccan as her moral compass. She could see anger and resentment still flaring in those jade-green orbs, but somewhere beyond that, she could see something resembling compassion. Willow nodded at Buffy, silently indicating her willingness to trust the two vampires.   
  
"Okay," Buffy stated, crossing her arms. "We'll give you that opportunity. But," she added, her eyes narrowing to angry slits, "what about THAT?" She pointed to Oz, who sat quietly on the stairs, watching the debate. "He still betrayed us, is he trying to redeem himself too?" "Buffy, you don't know half of the truth," Oz said sadly. "I haven't set foot in Sunnydale since I first left two years ago. I'd been studying in Tibet, learning how to control the wolf within." The others gaped at Oz, disbelieving.  
  
"He speaks the truth," Beltaine defended the werewolf. "I ventured to the lamasery where he was staying three months ago, and recruited him to my cause. I knew I had to find him when I heard what had happened to Buffy last year." He opened a drawer beneath the coffee table, and withdrew a leather-bound journal. "Perhaps this will explain it more eloquently than I could," Beltaine presented the book to Giles. Giles examined the binding, looking for a title or any identification. He opened the book, took one look at the first page, and dropped the book immediately.  
  
"My dear Lord," he whispered. "That--that's my handwriting. I'd know it anywhere. But I never wrote in this book before in my life!"  
  
"You didn't," Beltaine agreed. "But Rupert Giles did."  
  
"And the contradictory award goes to--" Xander commented.  
  
"You are aware of the idea of alternate realities, Xander," Beltaine said impatiently. "I understand that your fiancee, Cordelia, witnessed one such reality, one where Buffy never came to Sunnydale?"  
  
"Don't remind us," Willow rolled her eyes. "I still have nightmares about my vampiric twin." Although, she did admit to herself, that her other half did make her think about a few things. 'Kinda Gay', she said at the time. She glanced at Buffy, feeling a mischievous grin tug at her mouth.  
  
"You say, then," Giles nodded, "that this diary comes from an alternate reality?"  
  
"It does," Beltaine answered. "One where you made a terrible mistake, Rupert Giles, a mistake you were able to correct in your own world. But the consequences for your rash acts were much more dire in this other world. As you shall see when you read the text. Please, read the first few entries now."  
  
Giles turned the page, and scanned through the first few paragraphs. His breathing grew more labored as he read, and sweat formed on his brow. Buffy glanced at her Watcher, worried about what she was seeing. Whatever was in that book, it was having a nasty effect on Giles.  
  
"My God--" he stammered when he could not read any more. "In this world," he said, displaying the book, "I never told Buffy the truth of the rite of passage on her eighteenth birthday. Buffy went to face Kralik alone, not knowing what had happened to her, how I had--" his voice started to catch, as his normally dignified, stuffy attitude was replaced by anger, self-loathing and despair. "How I had betrayed the Slayer."  
  
"Hey, don't go there, Giles," Buffy assured her Watcher, placing her hand on his. "We've had this conversation before. When it came down to crunch time, you did what was right, not what the Council ordered. I don't blame you for what happened. Not anymore."  
  
"Yes," he said, flustered. "I was able to correct my error. But my counterpart, he went along with the Council. As a result, Buffy didn't know what she was getting into." He sipped his tea in an attempt to calm his nerves. "In his world, Kralik won. He Turned Buffy, and she then killed Joyce." A collective gasp could be heard from the others, and Willow's grip on Buffy's arm tightened. "Buffy took the name of Lady Bathory, a noblewoman of Sixteenth century Eastern Europe who was reputed to be a psychotic killer of young virgins. Buffy, or Bathory, then turned Willow, Xander and Cordy, had Willow cast a spell to corrupt Oz, and then they tormented her Giles."  
  
"Whoa," Willow interrupted. "You're saying that my other self in this world turned Oz evil?"  
  
"That's exactly what he's saying," Beltaine said solemnly. "He was the one who betrayed you, who sent you to hell. He was sent here by Lady Bathory to take out her greatest threat to her plans. She is coming to your world. Soon.  
  
"And unless we band together to stop her, we are all doomed."  
  
No one said anything for over a minute. Willow looked darkly at Oz, looking for the man who betrayed her last year, and only finding the sad, silent young man who gave her up for her own safety. And perhaps for the opportunity to find her true love. She still didn't trust him, perhaps she never would, but she no longer hated him. She didn't have the time or energy to hate him.  
  
Buffy, for her part, allowed Beltaine's words to roll around in her head. If Beltaine was right, then she and the others were about to face a threat even greater than Mayor Wilkins, Angelus, or Adam.   
  
They were going to face themselves.  
  
  
  



	7. The Enemy

  
Disclaimers;   
I own Mr. Beltaine, Sandra Ogawa, Denise Parkinson and the Hell's Belles, all others are owned by the mighty Joss Whedon. I'm just playing in his dark sandbox.   
  
Rating; PG-13 to R   
  
Author's note;   
This is the continuation of my series, "Somewhere I Have Never Traveled", my own personal epic. I'm looking at a trilogy, and now that I have a threat worthy of the mighty Slayer, I'm looking forward to springing it on you.   
  
Summary;   
Buffy and Willow are reunited after the Slayer's return from Hell. But what are these strange dreams that Buffy is having? Who is the mysterious Mr. Beltaine? Where do Spike and Darla figure? And what happened to Faith?   
  
Spoiler; Fourth Season up to "Hush" and "I Will Remember You"; Angel the Series   
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
  
Somewhere I Have Never Travelled  
Book Two; The Sang Real  
Written by Kirayoshi   
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
  
  
Chapter Seven  
The Enemy  
  
We have met the enemy, and he is us.  
--Walt Kelly  
  
========  
  
~From the diaries of Rupert Giles~  
  
February 11, 1999  
  
Today, I became a traitor.  
  
I have betrayed the finest, most noble woman I have ever known. Because I had not the stomach to tell my superiors in the Watchers Council that what they were doing was wrong.  
  
Buffy Summers just left the library. I sat by silently as she left. She was still weakened by the muscle relaxant that I had pumped into her veins. She still has no idea why her strength has deserted her, why her reflexes are at half of their norm, why her speed is not up to standard. And I sat by without saying anything. I just watched as she marched on to certain doom.  
  
That's what I do, isn't it? I Watch. I'm a Watcher. A worthless, bloody Watcher!  
  
Damn Quentin, damn him to the deepest pits of Hell! When I confront him tomorrow, I intend to resign my position as Watcher. Then I shall tell Buffy the truth about how I have betrayed her, and accept her anger, her hatred of me. Believe me, she cannot hate me as much as I hate myself.  
  
========  
  
February 12, 1999, 12:05 PM  
  
Quentin refused to even listen to me when I confronted him. He insisted that we were following the traditions of the Watcher's Counsel.  
  
Shortsighted little toady!  
  
I told him that he and his bloody traditions could go to Hell! I tendered my resignation to the Watcher's Council and informed him that I was ending the test. He responded that the test was in progress; that Buffy had gone to face Kralik. That she would soon pass the test or die.  
  
I felt a strange satisfaction when my fist impacted with his jaw. He simply ordered me to start packing my bags, that I would be recalled to England within the next two days. I told him to go to Hell.  
  
February 12, 1999, 8:30 PM  
  
========  
  
It's all my fault!  
  
She failed in her battle with Kralik. She has fallen.   
  
Kralik somehow managed to escape his confinement in the safehouse where Quentin was keeping him, he burst out of his cage and turned several Council employees. He then attacked and abducted Joyce Summers, in order to force Buffy to confront him. And he defeated her in battle. Without her Slayer strength, she was no match for a psychotic vampire like Kralik.  
  
Just how do I know this? Because late last night, she knocked on my door. I invited her in, steeling myself for what I had to do. I offered her tea, allowed her to rest on my couch, then I sat in the overstuffed chair beside her. I confessed my crimes to her, how I was responsible for her weakened condition. How I had been ordered by the Council to subject her to this rite of passage. I spoke with caution, expecting her to attack me at any moment. Her temper is legendary.  
  
Dear God, I wasn't prepared for what happened. She just looked at me, without emotion, without any rage at all. She just stared, almost as though she were looking past me, through me. She then smiled, and I could see an almost imperceptible change in her. A coldness, a terrible knowledge, something that reminded me of--  
  
Of Drusilla. That's when I realized the truth.  
  
She said to me; "So you're the one responsible for what happened to me? For making me--" Her face contorted, her brow shifted, her eyes turned sickly yellow. Her teeth were bared, and sharp fangs emerged from her mouth.  
  
Dear God, she's a vampire!  
  
"And I was just going to kill you, Giles," the monster that had once been Buffy Summers snarled at me, as she leapt from the couch and punched me in the gut, hard. She cuffed me on the back of the neck, and kicked me in the ribs several times for good measure, before she spoke again. "It's too bad you never gave my mom a chance, after that whole band candy incident. I guess it's too late now, seeing as how I drained her just now. Ooh, she was so sweet." The predatory leer on her face spoke volumes to me. Gone forever was the woman whom I had regarded as a surrogate daughter. In her place stood a creature which combined the strengths of a Slayer with the powers of a vampire. And it was all my fault.  
  
She walked toward the door, as though I weren't worth her time. She then turned around, and smiled, almost sweetly. "No, you aren't worth the effort of killing. I'll keep you around for a while. And every person I kill, and believe me, we're talking triple digits at the very least, their deaths will be on your hands as well! Toodles!" She left my place and before I could follow her, disappeared into the night.   
  
I spent the last hour setting up magical wards against Buffy; having invited the vampire, I had to recite the proper spell to 'uninvite' her. I then tried to call the others, but only contacted their parents. I informed them calmly that I needed to speak to them. I doubt they will get the message; I am aware that the parents of Sunnydale tend to look upon me as a dirty old man, not one with whom they would trust with the safety and well-being of their children. All I can do now is ready myself, and pray.  
  
It is my fault that the Slayer is now a vampire. I must rectify that mistake.  
  
I have to slay Buffy.  
  
========  
  
February 17, 1999  
  
As Shakespeare once said, "One woe doth tread upon another's heels, so fast they follow".   
  
She calls herself Bathory now. She had listened to Willow babble on about how she had read about Countess Bathory, the mad Romanian noblewoman who slaughtered virgins, believing that their blood would make her immortal. And now, Bathory has taken the others.   
  
Willow was first. I encountered her last night, standing alone in Wetherly Park. I tried to warn her off, to explain what happened to Buffy. She just smiled at me, and changed. Buffy -- I mean Bathory, stepped behind her and kissed her soundly on the lips. Evidently Bathory had made Willow a willing lover as well as a vampire. Bathory then pointed to the pile of corpses the two of them had recently drained, that I had failed to notice in the first place. Willow then whistled, and a wolf-like creature ran toward her on all fours, and knelt beside his mistress, allowing her to scratch behind his ears.  
  
My eyes widened when I recognized him. "Oz?"   
  
Willow nodded to the beast, who changed before me into Daniel Ozbourne. But he still knelt beside Willow, like a trained lap dog. "I control his transformations now," Willow explained, smiling evilly, "not the moon."  
  
"You've lost, Giles," Bathory growled at me. "I'm in charge now! Sunnydale is mine! And I will destroy everything you ever loved!"  
  
The next night, she called my house, to inform me that Faith, Xander and Cordelia had been turned as well. They hadn't bothered to turn Oz, he was more effective to their cause as a mindless werewolf. I turned on the news, and the anchorman had reported many violent murders. Violent ends are not uncommon here in Sunnydale, seeing as how we are close to the Hellmouth, but this many, so quickly, even the populace of this town couldn't ignore them. Among the fatalities over the last twenty-four hours were, to my lack of surprise, the parents of Willow, Xander and Cordelia, Mr. Snyder and a large percentage of the school faculty. The reporters claimed that the police had no leads, but I knew exactly what was going on. The former Scooby Gang were having their revenge.  
  
After I had seen the news, I desperately phoned the Watcher's Council; Quentin had quietly left town after the test. I begged them for help in this matter. They informed me that, from this moment on, Sunnydale was no longer their concern, and that as far as they were concerned, the sooner I died, the better. I was told to never contact them again, before the line disconnected.  
  
I had tried to contact Angel for the last few nights, with no luck. I must assume that Bathory has dealt with him as well. I am also aware of the lack of activity in the demonic circles. Even Mayor Wilkins, who I know has dabbled in dark forces, has been weirdly absent these last few days.  
  
So I am alone in my battle with my former allies. These five young people, once the bravest, most self-sacrificing individuals I had ever encountered, now perhaps the greatest threats the world had ever seen. Sunnydale was abandoned, no help would be coming, and I now prepare, alone, to fight my friends. This will very likely be my final entry in this diary. If by chance, a future Slayer finds this book, let me give this one word of advice to you;  
  
Ignore the Watcher's Council. Do not trust them, do not believe them, not even if they tell you that rain is wet. They are as much to blame for any of this mess, they and their hidebound need for ritual and tradition. Do what you know is right. Oppose the Council at all costs. They are as much the enemy as any vampire you will ever face. Their arrogance, their sanctimonious belief that their archaic traditions are right, will be their undoing.  
  
I know this, for I supported them. And my beliefs have damned a beautiful, brave young woman. A woman named Buffy Summers.  
  
  
========  
  
I am dying.  
  
I have failed in my efforts to slay Bathory and the others. And my failure has doomed the world.  
  
Bathory had somehow discovered where that fool Quentin had hidden the crypt of Acaltha once it had been closed by Buffy, when she fought Angelus to save the world last year. Ironically, now it was Bathory who had finished what Angelus started.   
  
Bathory's clan had relocated to Angel's old mansion. I was correct in my earlier assumption that Bathory had slain Angel. I am somewhat surprised that they didn't try to take his soul from him. An attempted seduction, an offer of bliss, that's all it would take. I suppose they didn't think him worthy.  
  
I had brought spare stakes and a fully loaded crossbow with me, when I stormed the mansion. The first attack came from the werewolf. I shooed him away, hit him with a tranquilizing dart. I hoped foolishly that I might be able to save him once I had dispatched the others.   
  
I didn't have a chance. Xander and Willow dropped behind me, and attacked mercilessly. It had been too long since I had taken the field. I had reached for my crucifix, but didn't find it. I glanced at Oz, only to see him toss a silver chain out the window. His attack must have been meant to rid me of any crosses and holy water before the vampires attacked me. And it had worked.  
  
Before I could get enough leverage to break the deathgrip of Willow's arms around my neck, Bathory made her move. She threw me aside, and slashed at me with her sword. I tried to feint her attacks, to dodge the arc of her blade, but she was too fast for me. Soon, Xander had me pinned, and made motions for my throat, when Bathory stopped him.  
  
"No, Xander," she glared, her voice was authority itself. "He's mine." She smiled at me as she walked toward me, saying, "Admit it, Giles, you wanted to get this close to me since the first day we met, when you dropped that book about vampires in my lap." She was now centimeters away from me, her lips redder than any blood. "Well, enjoy it while it lasts, because mine is the last face you will ever see."   
  
Unable to reach her, I spat at her. "The one whom I loved as a daughter is dead. You are not she."  
  
She glared at me, then slapped my cheek, hard. "And you are not anything," she shouted at me, her face corrupted into that of a vampire, "but a food source."   
  
I closed my eyes, and made my peace with God, as I felt two sharp pricks pierce my neck.  
  
Then blackness.  
  
========  
  
I awoke, half-drained, in the middle of the desert. They must have drove me there, and left my body behind. I wasn't even good enough for her to finish off. She was going to let the desert take me.   
  
So be it. I tried to stand up, but my legs failed me. I was lost, and I knew it. I had lost too much blood to survive for very much longer. I tried to look around me, to get my bearings, when I saw them.  
  
Terrible greasy red clouds hanging over the horizon, spreading their taint to the rest of the night sky.  
  
"She has finished her goal, Rupert Giles," a voice intoned behind me. I craned my neck as much as I could, to see the speaker. She was a golden-skinned woman, regal in bearing, dressed in an impossibly complex Greek toga. A wisdom shone around her, and a power, a power that sustained me somehow. I felt my limbs strengthen as I gazed at her.   
  
I had heard and read the legends of this woman and her male companion, but I never believed I would encounter her. "Are you an Oracle?" I stammered.  
  
"I am," she said sadly. "Alas, I fear you are the last mortal on this plane who will ever see me." She pointed to the red stain in the sky, saying, "Acaltha walks the earth. The one you once knew as Buffy has done her work. The monster Acaltha has damned all humanity to Hell on earth."  
  
I lowered my head in despair. "So I have failed in my mission to defend the light against the darkness."  
  
"Only in this world, Rupert Giles," she answered in a kind voice. "I can only sustain you for so long, Watcher. And soon, Bathory and her clan will seek to extend their evil to other worlds, other dimensions. You have one last task to perform." With a wave of her hand, she produced from thin air this Watcher's diary. "You must record the last battle, so that the Watcher and the Slayer of their next world will know what they face."  
  
I nodded, taking book and pen from her hands, and set my hand to writing one last time. I found it strangely comforting to do this, that writing should be my last act in this world.   
  
So there is my story. I have erred, by following the wrong orders, and in so doing, doomed my world. I am assured by the Oracle that this book will fall in the right hands. I warn you, Watcher and Slayer, whoever you are, beware Lady Bathory. Beware her followers, Willow Rosenberg, Xander Harris, Daniel Ozborne and Cordelia Chase. They may be the most dangerous opponents you ever faced.  
  
And above all else, beware the compulsion to follow orders blindly. If your instincts dispute your orders, follow your instincts. You must believe for yourself that what you do is right, is proper, is what must be done. If you don't question those who command, you are not fit to be the Slayer. Or a Watcher.  
  
These are the last words of the Rupert Giles of this world. I wish whoever receives this diary better luck than I experienced. I pray that you will never have to face the mistakes I have made. Or the consequences of my mistakes.  
  
Beware of Lady Bathory. Beware---------  
  
========  
  
Giles stared at the book, thunderstruck. The evil he had witnessed through the eyes of his counterpart, the damage that had been done because this Rupert Giles had said yes, when he himself had said no. He had read the book aloud, and the effect on the others was no less dramatic. Only Mr. Beltaine, who had read the book before, stood unmoved. Buffy instinctively placed her arms around Willow's shoulder, feeling the red haired wiccan tremble as Giles spoke. The two of them retained this close contact, afraid of losing each other if they let go.  
  
"The Oracle came to me last year," Mr. Beltaine continued as Giles placed the book on the coffee table in front of him, "and gave me that book. I knew that I had to contact the Slayer. I had heard that Buffy Summers and her friends were still alive and well in Sunnydale, so I sent my spies to find them. They reported back that the Slayer had been killed, evidently by Bathory's servant Oz. She had sent Oz to this world to prepare for her coming, by killing the one person who could challenge her."   
"So when you heard of Buffy's death," Denise Parkinson asked, "is that when you tried to contact Faith?" "I did," Beltaine admitted. "She was unruly, untrustworthy, had made her share of mistakes," Faith sat beside Beltaine, squirming at his observations, not because he made them in front of her, but because they were true. "However," he added, noticing her discomfort, "she had the potential for redemption, and the power I would need to mount an offensive against Bathory. Unfortunately, she was locked up rather tightly in her prison. By the time I had been able to determine a method of, um, liberating her," he chuckled lightly, "vampires employed by Wolfram and Hart had turned her. It did make it easier for me to remove her body once the prison officials had her discarded, but it also necessitated the use of the Greater Orb of Thessula to restore her soul."  
  
"Actually, luv," Spike commented, "these last two weeks led to an entirely new experience for me; I was actually glad that you weren't dead, Buffy." He tried to speak in his normal level of bluster, but Buffy could pick up the genuine undertones of earnestness in his voice. She started to believe that the monster that was William the Bloody was truly dead, buried by his newfound soul.  
  
"Yes, Mr. Blood is right," Beltaine agreed. "Your return, Buffy Summers, has given me hope. But I fear we will not have much time to prepare."  
  
"You're saying that my double's coming to Sunnydale?" Buffy asked.  
  
"I am sure of it," Beltaine answered. "That is why Darla has recruited those formidable women with the motorcycles. She plans to lead them in a ritual that will pierce the dimensional veil and bring Lady Bathory and her clan to Earth." He leaned toward Buffy, his expression one of contrition. "I am aware that you have had much information to process these last few days. But this world needs you. Perhaps now more than ever."  
  
Buffy digested the information that she had been given. Another Slayer, another Buffy, another Scooby gang, only evil, and augmented by vampiric strength. She looked at Willow, searching her green eyes, and asked, "Well, Wills, you up to saving the world?"   
  
Willow nodded toward her fiancee, her resolve face firmly in place. "Always." She took Buffy's hand in her own.  
  
"Hey, count me in, too," Xander added, reaching across to join hands with his two best friends.  
  
"And don't forget us," Tara and Sandra agreed, joining their hands with the others. Denise and Giles also joined them, as Giles vowed, "You have my word, Buffy Summers, Denise and I will do everything in our power to help in this crisis."  
  
"And you can count on my support as well," Angel added. "I have some connections in L.A. One call from me, they'll be here."  
  
"And you will have the aid of my people," Mr. Beltaine promised. "I am not without resources, both in men, in finances and in more esoteric areas. I may have some magic tomes that even the old Council was unaware of," he added, winking at Giles. Spike, Faith and Oz nodded their agreement, silently pledging to give everything they had, up to and including their lives, to the cause.  
  
"Okay," Buffy announced solemnly, "Some of us have to wake up in the morning, so we'll call it a night. Tomorrow night, we meet here and start planning our strategies." The gang started to disperse, as Xander headed out to return to police headquarters; he might have to recruit some help and equipment from Night Shift for this one.  
  
Before Willow joined Buffy in the night air on their way home, Oz stopped her. "Hey," he said to his former love. Willow turned around, regarding the man whom she once blamed for her sorrow of the last year. She was no longer angry at him, but she still couldn't quite bring herself to fully trust him. He would have to earn that, as far as she was concerned.  
  
"I just wanted to say," Oz continued, "I'm glad you and Buffy hooked up. She's good for you." He dropped his head, and Willow thought she could see a tear fall down the normally taciturn musician's cheek. "A lot better than I would have been."  
  
Willow smiled sadly, lifting Oz's chin with her finger. "Yeah, she is good for me," she declared. "But I'm glad you're back in my life." She wasn't sure where those words came from, but the moment she said them, she knew them to be true. "Still friends?"  
  
"Always," he answered, gripping her hand in a hearty handshake. Oz let go, and headed back up the stairs.  
  
"Hey," Buffy wrapped her arms around Willow's waist. "You okay?"  
  
Willow looked up at the face she loved more than any other. "Yeah," she said, smiling. "For the first time in a long time, I'm really okay." She kissed her love fully on the lips. They cherished this closeness, praying that it wouldn't end.  
  
Tomorrow, they prepared for battle. Tonight, they simply wanted to be together, to make love, to maintain this connection. To be truly alive in the light of their love.  
  
========  
  
"DAMN!" Rizzo shouted as she and the others made their way back to the warehouse. She steadied Frenchie on one side as Frenchie's leg still ached from the holy-water treated splinters, while Leather cradled her shoulder, still wincing from the holy-water bullet.   
  
Darla emerged from her hiding place, to see her wounded sisters. "Rough night, girls?" she asked.  
  
"That bitch Slayer's so dead once I get my hands into her!" Rizzo screamed, as she deposited Frenchie onto the couch, and collapsed on the easy chair next to her.  
  
"Yeah, just save me that red-haired girlfriend of hers," Leather answered as she sat next to Frenchie, and cradled her lover's body in her arms. "After what she did to Frenchie, I'm gonna think up new ways to hurt her!"  
  
"Yeah, and that cop friend of theirs too," Frenchie complained, kissing Leather hotly. "Look what he did to my Leather's shoulder."  
  
"And you idiots left your bikes behind," Darla complained. "Stop your complaining. One good day's sleep and you'll be good as new." She stalked the other three like a drill sergeant, saying, "Besides, tomorrow night, we have plans. I need you alive and well to perform the ritual. In three nights, we must prepare to summon Lady Bathory. With her and her clan on our side, the Slayer and her followers will be defeated!" The four vampires nodded, smiling wickedly.  
  
Soon, they vowed, they would have their revenge on the Slayer.  
  
========  
  
Xander Harris came back to his single-bedroom apartment, his body and mind worn out. After what he had seen and heard this night, he despaired at the possibility of getting a good night's sleep. He took his jacket off, and started to remove his police holster, when a voice called out; "Xander? Is that you?"   
  
Xander almost drew his gun out, until he belatedly recognized the speaker. "Geez, Cordy! Don't scare me like that!" He turned and saw Cordy getting up from the sofa. They met in the middle of the living room, in a warm embrace. "God I'm glad you're here," he said to his fiancee.  
  
"You're the one who left me a spare key, and I had to see you," Cordy answered, and Xander could hear the tension in her voice. "I desperately needed to be here, with you, after -- after --"  
  
"You had one of those visions?" Xander asked.  
  
"Yeah, a nasty one," she admitted. "I saw you and the others, you were being attacked by vampires." She shook in Xander's arms, as Xander eased her onto the couch and continued to hold her. "And Buffy, oh God, Buffy was one of them--" She could barely speak further, and her breathing was labored. "She tried to kill you!"  
  
"Hey, don't worry, Cordy," Xander said, stroking her hair. "I'm not going anywhere. Besides, it wasn't Buffy." Cordy looked at him oddly, and he gave her one of his patented goofy Xander smiles. He then told her about the meeting with Mr. Beltaine, and the revelations he had heard that night. "The good news is that Buffy's back in the Slayer game. The bad news is that we'll be facing off against her evil double. That's who you must have seen attacking me."  
  
"God, have I mentioned lately that I hate being a Seer?" Cordy grinned weakly. She cuddled into Xander's shoulder some more. "I wish I was more brave, like you are."  
  
"Hey, you're the one marrying a cop," Xander commented. Cordy lifted her head to offer Xander a kiss, which he accepted. Their mutual need for comfort quickly gave way to passion, and their kisses became more urgent.  
  
"I don't want to leave here tonight," Cordy said breathlessly.  
  
"I don't want you to go," Xander answered. They kissed some more.  
  
"God, Xander," Cordy whispered as they broke off the kiss and allowed Xander to lead her to his bedroom. "How did I get so lucky to get a second chance with you?"  
  
Xander grinned, and coughed, "A-hem-karma-a-hem." Cordy playfully slapped his arm. He grinned back, and for the rest of the night, the two lovers were able to forget their fears and their concerns in their love for each other.  
  
========  
  
Joyce Summers arrived at the townhouse that her daughter shared with Willow, and knocked at their door. Buffy answered the door and hugged her mother. "Hey, Mom, good to see you."  
  
"Thanks for inviting me," Joyce answered as she entered the house. She admired the tasteful decor, before continuing. "Is Willow here?" "Right here, Mrs. Summers," Willow poked her head out of the kitchen. "You want anything?"  
  
"Iced tea if you have it," Joyce answered. As she sat down, and Willow emerged with three glasses of tea, she looked at her daughter and asked, "So, any reason why you invited me here?" "Well, Mom," Buffy started hesitantly, "Willow and I have a few announcements to make." Yeah, she added to herself, I'm gonna be fighting a vampire version of myself soon. Nah, I think I'll skip that part.   
  
Willow sat beside Buffy as Buffy continued. "First, my amnesia cleared yesterday. Giles and Willow helped me remember everything."  
  
Joyce sighed audibly. "I was kind of hoping you could forget being the Slayer."  
  
"Yeah, you and me both," Buffy admitted. "But we have something else to announce." She took Willow's hand in her own, and started, haltingly, "Mom, I know that you've always supported me, and my relationship with Willow, despite the same-sex thing, so we want to tell you together, Mom,--"  
  
"We're getting married," Willow chirped brightly. Buffy glared half-seriously at Willow, saying, "Hey, I wanted to say it!" Willow smiled impishly at her beloved, and kissed her nose. Joyce took in the sight of her daughter, looking happier than she had ever seen her.  
  
"I'm so glad to hear that," Joyce declared. "Welcome to the family, Willow." She took her future daughter-in-law in her arms in a welcoming embrace. Buffy joined them in their embrace, until Willow complained, "Uh, guys, oxygen, becoming an issue."  
  
The three disengaged their hug, and began to talk as a family. For a brief moment, the threat of Lady Bathory and Darla seemed far away.   
  
Buffy looked at Willow, knowing that they would survive this ordeal together. Together. She repeated the word several times in her mind. She had found the one with whom she could share her life. And the one for whom she would give her life gladly to save.  
  
She had her Willow. That was all she needed.  
  
FINIS  
  
To be continued in "Handfasting"  
Then the conclusion, "Somewhere I Have Never Traveled Book 3; Dopplegangwar"  
  
  
  



End file.
